House Hunters - General Discussion

[mojito]

3 hours ago, rhofmovalley said:

I presume the buyers these days are either looking to turn it around and make a quick profit OR they're planning to stay in their homes for many years. 

I suspect that flippers are only a tiny portion of those purchasing homes. I think foreign and domestic investors are purchasing homes in the more affordable sunbelt cities, and their plan is to rent them out to all the people who can't afford to purchase homes.  There are a lot of deep pockets out there happy to make renters of us all. 

Should people still purchase a "starter" home with the intention of selling it in 5 years and then buying something larger? Is the property ladder way of building wealth still valid for the average wage earner? Or should you buy a home knowing it'll be the one you will someday haunt?

[Hedgehog2022]

On 4/14/2022 at 2:37 PM, Pj3422 said:

The look on the realtor’s face when the husband said, “so you won’t get murdered!”  I’ll bet he was muttering under his breath, “well, not by a stranger, anyway…”

What house did they end up picking? I watched it on demand and they cut that part off to go to another episode.

[CrazyInAlabama]

On 4/17/2022 at 4:59 PM, Hedgehog2022 said:

What house did they end up picking? I watched it on demand and they cut that part off to go to another episode.

If I have the episode correct, the one with the two nurses, they bought the third house, the fixer in Lititz.    It had a huge yard, but needed some updates.    

About the starter home, very few mention that they will only stay in the house for a few years, sell and buy bigger, or much more expensive.    With the current inventory issues, and the price rises, I bet a lot of people who thought they were buying a starter home, are now stuck.    There is no point in selling, making a bonanza, and not being able to get something that's better, and affordable.    I think a lot of people buying way over asking, and appraised value, will be underwater for a lot of years.   

They rarely have a house hunter who mentions buying and upgrading to bigger or a better location in a few years.   I don't think there's any such thing as a starter home anymore.    

Edited April 19, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[ECM1231]

On 4/15/2022 at 12:02 PM, cameron said:

Only thing that I didn't like was that their agent talked them into not doing an inspection, having a contingency, etc.  That could spell big trouble.

Exactly! I disliked the agent immensely. Especially since he knew the husband for 20+ years you would think he would have his best interests at heart. He reminded me of all the smarmy real estate agents from when we were house hunting  25 years ago. We once looked at a Tudor style home listed as 3 bedrooms. The smallest bedroom was ridiculously small. I mean teeny tiny. My husband walked in and said "Wow, what a great walk in closet!"  He tends to be sarcastic. The look the agent gave him was priceless. And just to be clear, we didn't have a list of demands. No white cabinetry with granite/quartz countertops, no en suite baths, and I still don't have a walk in closet. Just make sure a room listed as a bedroom can fit a twin bed. 

Back to the episode...I feel badly that this nice couple had to spend $70,000 over asking price. Sellers have gotten too greedy and the agents are more than happy to be complicit.

[chessiegal]

7 hours ago, ECM1231 said:

I feel badly that this nice couple had to spend $70,000 over asking price. Sellers have gotten too greedy and the agents are more than happy to be complicit.

Simple economics - supply and demand. I don't see any greed on anyone's part.

[ECM1231]

2 hours ago, chessiegal said:

Simple economics - supply and demand. I don't see any greed on anyone's part.

A house is going to appraise for what it's going to appraise. To only accept offers over asking price is greedy, imo. A knowledgeable realtor should list your home for close to its appraised value. I don't understand where the home buyers come up with all the extra money to purchase when they offer a significant amount over asking price. A house is only going to appraise for a certain dollar amount. The mortgage company won't approve a mortgage if the asking price comes in higher than the appraisal. So, where does that money come from? Just like the New Jersey realtor who was pushing her friend, the single mom, to buy at the max she was approved for. She kept saying that for every extra $10,000 you add to the purchase price, you ONLY add $200 to the monthly mortgage payment. If you spend 50K over asking price, that's $1,000 added to your monthly mortgage. Not chump change, imo. I think realtors like that are only interested in getting a larger commission. A more expensive home = more money in their pockets. I admit that I may be biased as I regard realtors the same as used car salesmen.

Personally, I would never offer more than asking. Ymmv

[amarante]

In some locations homes are deliberately set lower than what the property will sell for - and appraise for.

It is a deliberate strategy to drive potential buyers to the house. When homes are searched one of the filters is price and so by having a lower asking price, your home will come up in additional searches. Many of those people have the ability to purchase a home for a higher price but wouldn't be looking at the next tier of pricing necessarily.

In many locations the reality of going over asking is baked into a buyer's calculations so if a home is listed at $900,000 the buyer knows that it is actually going to sell for over a million.

An appraisal isn't an exact number. It is based on certain factors beyond square footage. Not all homes - even in the same area are worth the same. I live in a condo with 122 units and most of them are theoretically the same although there may be variants such as units on higher floors have great views. However the biggest variant is whether or not the units have been remodeled so an appraisal based solely on comps and square footage would be wildly inaccurate - over for an "original" or poor remodeled unit and under if it was a unit that was recently remodeled with high end tasteful finishes.

Also many expensive homes don't have mortgages so appraisals are irrelevant except for insurance purposes. One of the many reasons all cash offers with no contingencies are accepted even if the price is slightly lower. Waiving inspection is a completely different issue - that is generally only done when the home is being sold as a complete remodel so the buyer is taking it "as is" anyway.

[rhofmovalley]

In today's market anyone who refuses to offer over asking price is likely not going to get the house.

My brother found that out. He set his budget at $600,000 knowing he was likely going to spend about $640,000. I think he ended up at $630,000.

[buttersister]

Quote

Sellers have gotten too greedy and the agents are more than happy to be complicit.

In many markets, corporations are buying up houses to flip into rentals. That's driving up prices as much if not more than anything else. I'm curious as to whether any of the realtors or house hunters on this show are going to talk about that at some point. Realtors in the short-term benefit from higher commissions, but in the long-haul, you can't buy and sell rental properties and that trend could also shrink the market for this show.

[amarante]

13 hours ago, ECM1231 said:

 

Back to the episode...I feel badly that this nice couple had to spend $70,000 over asking price. Sellers have gotten too greedy and the agents are more than happy to be complicit.

Why are you criticizing sellers for being greedy? For most people their home is their most valuable asset.

Why shouldn't they sell it to whoever is willing to pay them the most money so long as they haven't done something fraudulent like not disclosing issues. 

I can't imagine anyone who is selling a home (or any valuable asset) who would actually not sell to the highest bidder because they didn't want to appear to be greedy.

But then I also roll my eyes at the stupid letters in which homeowners attempt to melt the hearts of sellers by sending pictures of their children and pets. 

Unaffordable housing is a real issue - there are areas in which critical workers can't buy or rent close to their jobs. But the solution isn't to make individual homeowners be forced to sell homes for less than fair market value. There were some public housing coops in New York City that were subsidized by the government and also by unions such as the International Garment Ladies Worker which built coops and sold them to working and lower middle class people. The prices were very low and you had to have below a certain income to purchase. However you could not sell for a high profit but only for a price set so that the projects would remain affordable to future families. - these are not to be confused with housing projects built for the poor.

[rhofmovalley]

2 hours ago, amarante said:

But then I also roll my eyes at the stupid letters in which homeowners attempt to melt the hearts of sellers by sending pictures of their children and pets. 

My brother actually lost out on a house he really wanted because a competing buyer wrote a letter. The sellers apparently really liked the letter so they chose to sell to them despite my brother putting in a strong offer over asking. This is what his agent told him, so I presume the agent was told this by the seller or the seller's agent.

[CrazyInAlabama]

If I got a letter from a buyer, I wouldn't even read it.   I go with the best offer, and the best or all cash financing.      I wouldn't believe that the letter was all true, and certainly wouldn't take a letter trying to get sympathy as a reason to choose an inferior offer. 

[Grrarrggh]

1 hour ago, rhofmovalley said:

My brother actually lost out on a house he really wanted because a competing buyer wrote a letter. The sellers apparently really liked the letter so they chose to sell to them despite my brother putting in a strong offer over asking. This is what his agent told him, so I presume the agent was told this by the seller or the seller's agent.

Which is just skirting laws re: racism/bigotry. 

[Johannah]

1 hour ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

If I got a letter from a buyer, I wouldn't even read it.   I go with the best offer, and the best or all cash financing.      I wouldn't believe that the letter was all true, and certainly wouldn't take a letter trying to get sympathy as a reason to choose an inferior offer. 

I was going to say the same thing.  First, this should be a business transaction, not an emotional one.  Second, who knows if what the letter says is even true or the person who didn't write a letter would actually have more need or desire to buy?

I might save the letters and read them when everything was over - and then berate my cold heart for denying a dying woman her perfect house for two months before she succumbed to some fatal illness.

[Johannah]

22 minutes ago, Grrarrggh said:

Which is just skirting laws re: racism/bigotry. 

Huh?  What am I missing?  How is someone using emotion skirting any racism/bigotry laws?

Also, the other offer may have also been strong and the difference such that it was a toss-up and they decided on the emotional letter writer.

[CrazyInAlabama]

3 hours ago, Johann said:

Huh?  What am I missing?  How is someone using emotion skirting any racism/bigotry laws?

Also, the other offer may have also been strong and the difference such that it was a toss-up and they decided on the emotional letter writer.

Often the writers/prospective buyers include a few photos with the letter.   If someone is a bigot, that will give them a way to weed out buyers that are a different race,  

Edited April 20, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[amarante]

4 hours ago, Johann said:

Huh?  What am I missing?  How is someone using emotion skirting any racism/bigotry laws?

Also, the other offer may have also been strong and the difference such that it was a toss-up and they decided on the emotional letter writer.

You can google buyers letters +racism to learn more if you are interested. They have been shown to give white buyers an edge and could be used to prevent integration in neighborhoods by not providing an even not racial playing field.

Similarly but not quite the same there was a recent case against an appraisal firm that came in with a very low amount for a home that was owned by a black couple. The couple then had it reappraised by the same firm but this time the "seller" was a white woman and anything that provided information on race was removed from the house and replaced with "white" pictures. The appraisal came in significantly higher - as I recall $200 thousand or $300 thousand higher. This was in San Francisco so the house was worth at least a million.

Edited April 20, 2022 by amarante

[CrazyInAlabama]

The new episode in Atlanta is interesting.    Twins are retiring, moving outside of Atlanta, and their mother is moving in with them, and one twin's husband.     Why was it necessary to state the mother is elderly?   She's moving in with her retiring daughters, so I think we could do the math ourselves.     As an old coot, on Medicare, just say the mother is moving in.   I wouldn't be surprised she was older than her daughters, but don't talk about her like she's   The first house had some blue, and some yellow, and the sisters have blue top on one, and a yellow top on the other, so if they buy this one, since the colors coordinate, I won't be surprised.  

I really enjoyed the sisters, and the husband.   I bet their mother is fun too.   

No surprise, they bought the new build that had exterior colors matching their tops.    I love that house, and hope they're all happy and living together for a long time.    I suspect they bought early enough to pick some colors and finishes.   

(I was a librarian for many years, and often had to input patron records.   What amazed me is the differing spellings of the popular names. )   

Edited April 20, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[Grizzly]

7 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

The new episode in Atlanta is interesting.    Twins are retiring, moving outside of Atlanta, and their mother is moving in with them, and one twin's husband.     Why was it necessary to state the mother is elderly?   She's moving in with her retiring daughters, so I think we could do the math ourselves.      The first house had some blue, and some yellow, and the sisters have blue top on one, and a yellow top on the other, so if they buy this one, since the colors coordinate, I won't be surprised.  

And the husband was complaining his wife liked colors that were too bright while wearing an orange shirt. I'm surprised they are finding houses with 4 bedrooms for under 400k. Really like the house they picked.

[StatisticalOutlier]

10 hours ago, buttersister said:

In many markets, corporations are buying up houses to flip into rentals.

The government in Cincinnati is buying 194 houses itself to combat this, perhaps ironically from an institutional investor that bought a bunch of properties after the last bust and is now in receivership.

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2021/12/08/port-buys-cincinnati-homes-deal-194-single-family-homes-announced/6434319001/

[cameron]

10 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

The new episode in Atlanta is interesting.    Twins are retiring, moving outside of Atlanta, and their mother is moving in with them, and one twin's husband.     Why was it necessary to state the mother is elderly?   She's moving in with her retiring daughters, so I think we could do the math ourselves.      The first house had some blue, and some yellow, and the sisters have blue top on one, and a yellow top on the other, so if they buy this one, since the colors coordinate, I won't be surprised.  

How do people even come up with some of these names!

[mojito]

10 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Why was it necessary to state the mother is elderly? 

They also referred to the mother as "aging". Because only mothers age, I guess. 

I wondered about the non-elderly members of that family climbing stairs.

9 minutes ago, cameron said:

How do people even come up with some of these names!

When you think about it, a name is just a sound, so what's the big deal? 

That said, yeah, some people really come up with some doozies.

When I was a child, I couldn't understand why anyone would give their kid an odd name, or spell a simple name differently, because in my mind, if you couldn't get a bicycle "license" plate with your name on it, what good was your name? I still sometimes fall back on that. I had a mainstream name. And now that I think of it, I never had a bicycle plate. I might as well been named Daughterra. 

[answerphone]

Those twins were colorful characters!  
 

They were interesting and seemed true to themselves, not scripted HGTV talk. 

[Johannah]

14 hours ago, Grizzly said:

And the husband was complaining his wife liked colors that were too bright while wearing an orange shirt. I'm surprised they are finding houses with 4 bedrooms for under 400k. Really like the house they picked.

I know you're probably not overly serious, but the color you wear vs the colors you like on walls can be totally different.  I wear black and other dark colors almost all of the time, but I want my walls to be light grey or something else pale grey-toned.  Yes. I'm boring.

Thanks, CrazyinAlabama, for the info above and, while I believe it, why wouldn't you take anybody's money, whether you liked them or not?  I'm moving out of the neighborhood.   Even if I were prejudiced, why would I care?  I'd say they were stupid, but that would be redundant since obviously they've shown their ignorance just by being prejudiced.

Oh, and,i, too liked the sisters and husband.  Hope everyone living together works out.  Totally understand when the husband said he loved them all, but needed his own space.  A lot of times when the man insists he needs a private space away from his family, I roll my eyes, but in this case, I think it's warranted.

Edited April 20, 2022 by Johann

[StatisticalOutlier]

29 minutes ago, Johann said:

I'm moving out of the neighborhood.   Even if I were prejudiced, why would I care?

A bigot who is friends with his bigoted neighbors might want to help ensure the neighborhood stays as white as possible. 

Also, the purpose of basing the sale on "love letters" is often to pick a buyer who will love your house as much as you did.  And the reverse could happen--not want a particular type of person to get to love your house.

[rhofmovalley]

20 hours ago, Grrarrggh said:

Which is just skirting laws re: racism/bigotry. 

As far as I know the letter mentioned nothing about the "race" of the letter writers. 

[amarante]

2 hours ago, rhofmovalley said:

As far as I know the letter mentioned nothing about the "race" of the letter writers. 

Not everyone who is using a letter (buyer or seller) is attempt to do something underhanded of course but the end result is that these letters seem to produce results with the end result being shutting out people of color. You don't have to be overt as there are subtle cues that someone could pick up - especially since without a letter one generally has no idea who is buying your property.

It is in some way a wicked step child to the old real estate practice of "block busting" when real estate agents would solicit homeowners in certain neighborhoods and whisper that people of color were moving in and therefore they better sell quickly or they would be left with a valueless home in a dangerous neighborhood. That practice is I think illegal in most places. 

[StatisticalOutlier]

2 hours ago, rhofmovalley said:

As far as I know the letter mentioned nothing about the "race" of the letter writers. 

It wouldn't have to mention it.   A buyer could include a photo, or even the buyer's name could indicate race.

And FWIW, it could go the other way, too.  People in a neighborhood that is predominantly Black, for example, might prefer to hang onto that, especially in the face of gentrification.  Which, again, argues for having home sales be a strictly financial deal. 

[chessiegal]

28 minutes ago, amarante said:

That practice is I think illegal in most places. 

Every place in the United States. It's part of the federal Fair Housing laws. When I took my real estate license training, we spent a lot of time going over said laws. Strict penalties and consequences if an agent was found to be violating them.

[Grrarrggh]

2 hours ago, chessiegal said:

Every place in the United States. It's part of the federal Fair Housing laws. When I took my real estate license training, we spent a lot of time going over said laws. Strict penalties and consequences if an agent was found to be violating them.

Sadly it's seems about as hard to prove and as little tried as following illegal orders in the military. 

[dogdays2]

Recently sold and bought homes within 2 months.  In selling, what we cared most about was the deal closing.  Don’t want to effectively take the house off the market for weeks and then have the deal fall through.  We had multiple offers, including one all cash over asking price but they wanted a home inspection. We were concerned that they’d nickel and dime us to a much lower price.  We took a different offer who matched the price and asked for an appraisal inspection but not a home inspection.  For various reasons, we and the realtor believed they really loved the house and that the deal would go through.  No letters.  😀. The deal closed.  The buyers were diverse, as is our old neighborhood.  

In buying, we wanted certainty and not having the drama of bidding and losing on lots of homes.  We made an offer very slightly over asking price.  There was one other offer but ours won. Not sure why.  No letter. We asked for a home inspection but knew that, in this market, we could only ask them to fix things that were major.  We identified several and they agreed to fix.  Deal closed.  

Of interest, we originally planned to bid on another home in the very same neighborhood for which there were ultimately multiple offers.  Our agent suggested we write a letter. I refused.  Just not my thing to beg someone to sell me their house.  Don’t know how it would have turned out.  

Bottom line - it’s been a  crazy time for buying and selling so, if you haven’t done it recently, you may not fully understand the current situation.  The one point with which I do agree, don’t  pay more than you can afford, accounting for some short term setbacks.  

 

[CrazyInAlabama]

Neat backstory on the HH's, both Mescalero Apache, grew up close to each other, but didn't know each other then.    Her budget is $400k, his budget is $350k, but he is OK with a fixer.   I'm surprised at the prices in Las Cruces, I lived there a long time ago.  

1-new build $379k, 4 bed 2.5 bath, kitchen is so generic (white cabinets, granite, everything right out of the latest trends).  Unfortunately, the secondary three bedrooms are small, with a huge main suite, and main bath.  Nice size dining/family/kitchen. They had to pay $394k. 

2-$349,900, 3 bed, 2 bath cheaper.  main bath is huge.  Outdoor patio, and kitchen is great.  Backyard is small. 

3-$365k     4 bed, 2.5bath, pueblo style/adobe, darker interior paint so wife hates that, nice back yard.   The dark tile in the giant shower is a mistake, with the minerals in the water there. 

I bet they buy her favorite #1, yes, they did.   They had the home blessed. 

The next new episode in New Rochelle illustrated everything wrong with the house hunts.    The couple had a bad experience with a previous buy, so they claim they're more realistic this time, and will compromise.   Instead, the wife gets exactly what she wants.    I know a lot is scripted, and they already own one of the properties, but I wonder if people realize how awful they look on TV?     

I knew the third place by the fire station in the neighboring community was a decoy.     I wasn't surprised they bought the fake Tudor with the awful wall texture.    That was what the wife wanted, and what she got.    I wonder how long it took to either get rid of the wall texture or change the drywall to get rid of it?   I bet the kitchen now looks like every other flip HGTV kitchen now, white, gray, quartz or marble, and overpriced industrial look appliances.  

Edited April 21, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[StatisticalOutlier]

That guy in New Rochelle was like the low talker on Seinfeld.  I kept internally exhorting, "Speak uuuuuup!"

I had a friend who had a fire hydrant in his front yard, and am thinking he got a discount on his homeowners insurance because of it.  (That's also how I learned that the blue reflectors you see in the middle of a street mark where fire hydrants are.)  I'm wondering if you'd get a big discount if you're next door to a fire station.  They could just throw the hose over the fence.  😀

I missed the beginning of the episode, but later they mentioned dealing with sirens in the city, but I'm not sure being next door to a fire station in a small city would bother me from a noise standpoint.  I've found that I can tolerate noise a lot better if there's a good reason for it, like a truck going to put out a fire.  Or construction noise.  Or the beep beep beep of trash trucks.  It's barking dogs and loud music that drive me insane.

[pdlinda]

16 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

 I wasn't surprised they bought the fake Tudor with the awful wall texture.   

I grew up in NYC and my best friend moved to New Rochelle so I visited there many times.  She moved to a house similar to what the couple bought.  The interior looked like the house my friend lived in MANY YEARS AGO!

The THOUGHT that such a house would cost over $700K today literally made me cringe!!  

When I coupled the New Rochelle episode with the N.M. one, it was even more STARK as the house there for about $400K was absolutely beautiful, ESPECIALLY when compared with the house in New Rochelle.

[Grrarrggh]

3 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I had a friend who had a fire hydrant in his front yard, and am thinking he got a discount on his homeowners insurance because of it.  (That's also how I learned that the blue reflectors you see in the middle of a street mark where fire hydrants are.)  I'm wondering if you'd get a big discount if you're next door to a fire station.  They could just throw the hose over the fence.  😀

 

Funny, or well depressing, story about that. My grandparents lived half a block over from a city fire department but when their garage burned down found out that doesn't help when you officially live in the county. Yep, no firefighter from there would come even though a neighbor walked over and asked. This was in the 1970s but still, I hear of the same sort of thing happening with ambulances nowadays. 

[amarante]

I thought the economics of the New Rochelle episode was interesting because there are houses available in NYC for their budget and the taxes are much lower than the suburbs because single family residences are given huge breaks - and beyond that NYC has a much larger commercial tax structure.

Of course you wouldn't get the huge suburban lawns but - at least in my opinion - other stuff tips the balance in favor of living in one of the outer boroughs including significantly lower commuting costs.

I believe New Rochelle was where Rob & Laura Petrie lived on the original Dick Van Dyke show but their house seemed to be a typical ranch. 

[Crashcourse]

3 hours ago, amarante said:

I believe New Rochelle was where Rob & Laura Petrie lived on the original Dick Van Dyke show but their house seemed to be a typical ranch. 

I think of that show whenever someone mentions New Rochelle.

[CrazyInAlabama]

Yes, New Rochelle, home of Rob and Laura.

I like the new episode in Chicago.    The hunter wants two bathrooms, because he's one of eleven (?) kids and never wants to wait for a bathroom again.   He's currently living in a 3 flat owned by his ex.   His budget is $400,000.  He wants a 3 bed 2 bath, single family home, hopefully fenced for his dogs. 

House 1-Skokie on a main road (in heavy snowfalls the house hunter will be thrilled to be on a main road), $399k, the top of his price range.   Detached 2 car garage.  House is 3 bed 2 bath, and completely redone.  There is no traffic noise inside the house.  I love the basement, it's big, and doesn't look wet, and there's a full bath down there, with lovely tile.  Lovely main floor bathroom, He will just need to put some chain link, and a couple of gate to keep his dogs in.  

House 2-Georgian house, 3 bed 2 bath, $332k,dining room, and with an additino with a full bath, and a family room.   Property is fully fenced, with a detached 2 car garage.   Kitchen is strange, red hardware, mirror backsplash (change the hardware, and the back splash, and maybe the counter tops.  basement is old.   Upstairs is a full bath, and 3 bedrooms.    (This is further out from the hunters current neighborhood, but I'm not sure where).

House 3-Evanston, IL, a smaller house that's a fixer, $249k, 2 bed 1 bath, the kitchen is awful.  bedroom 1 is small, and narrow, bath is small, bedroom 2 is a little bigger and there's a huge wall crack, basement is adequate, back yard deck and yard are nice.   I just want to know what the alley is next to the house.    He got it for $244k.  

He bought #3, and I'm shocked.  He's going to reno the kitchen, the first floor bath, add a bath in the basement, and put a bedroom in the basement for guests.

[Grizzly]

Chicago. Location seemed to be David's main factor in making his decision. Price too. I didn't quite see the potential in house #3. As an only child, I cannot imagine being one of 11. Don't blame him for not wanting to share a bathroom.

[LittleIggy]

New Mexico: I can understand not having a lawn because of water restrictions, but how are kids supposed to play outside in gravel? The wife’s Betty Boop voice got on my nerves. 

[Hedgehog2022]

On 4/17/2022 at 6:25 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

If I have the episode correct, the one with the two nurses, they bought the third house, the fixer in Lititz.    It had a huge yard, but needed some updates.    

About the starter home, very few mention that they will only stay in the house for a few years, sell and buy bigger, or much more expensive.    With the current inventory issues, and the price rises, I bet a lot of people who thought they were buying a starter home, are now stuck.    There is no point in selling, making a bonanza, and not being able to get something that's better, and affordable.    I think a lot of people buying way over asking, and appraised value, will be underwater for a lot of years.   

They rarely have a house hunter who mentions buying and upgrading to bigger or a better location in a few years.   I don't think there's any such thing as a starter home anymore.    

Sorry to bother about Lititz...but was third one that raised ranch that was really outdated? 

[Kiddvideo]

1 hour ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I like the new episode in Chicago.

I liked him too. His comments were reasonable and focused on real issues not paint. (Though those fuschia? maroon? cabinet pulls were screaming for feedback.) House 2 was a non-starter, but sending your guests to the basement to use the restroom (H1 and post-Reno H3) would be too much for me. Your storage area would be on display and you’d be constantly policing the main floor bathroom to keep guests (squatters 😂) away.

One thing caught my ear: he mentioned using his home office as a guest room. Last time I knew anyone claiming a home office on their taxes they had to jump through a lot of hoops to prove it was a dedicated office space and not a dual-purpose room. I picture a revenue agent watching the show and flagging his return for auditing. Maybe laws have changed, or he doesn’t plan on taking the deduction.

See HH: We don’t need a bunch of manufactured drama to enjoy an episode!

[answerphone]

New Mexico:  The tiny bit of their Indian heritage was interesting. 

Everything looks so barren and dry in that area. 

I wonder if they will stay married. She seemed a bit bossy to me. 
 

New Rochelle:  Yep, my first thought was The Dick Van Dyke show!

Those houses look so very old and dated. 

[mojito]

New Rochelle

Nothing looked very appealing to me. It would bum me out if I had those choices.

Chicago Area

House 3 was the best looking. I was thinking that in his shoes, I'd establish the basement as the hang-out place and that way guests would use that (new) bathroom.

I was thinking the other day how some house hunters are told that their budget ($XYZ)  is too small for all their wants (ABC). Still, some people look at a home and state, "For $XYZ, I would've thought they'd at least have A or B or C." I think that comment and the one where the homeowner states, "I wish we could take the ABC of that home and put it in this home" would be the comments that would annoy me the most if I were the agent. 

Did he state once the names of his dogs? I kept hearing him refer to them as "the dogs". In an odd way, I was impressed with that.

[CrazyInAlabama]

10 hours ago, answerphone said:

New Mexico:  The tiny bit of their Indian heritage was interesting. 

Everything looks so barren and dry in that area. 

I wonder if they will stay married. She seemed a bit bossy to me. 

I lived in that town for 10 years.    It takes a while to get used to being able to see many miles away, and very few trees, unless people plant them.   Some never get used to it, and move as soon as they can.   Others love it, and never leave.   It's kind of a love it or hate it area.  

[Kenzie]

1 hour ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

1 hour ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

It takes a while to get used to being able to see many miles away, and very few trees, unless people plant them.

 

Such a true observation.

I live twenty five miles south of Santa Barbara in Southern California. We have foothills behind us but otherwise it's open - beach views, wide-open freeways and palm trees. I love it here.

I remember how frustrated I was driving for the first time when I arrived in Massachusetts and I "couldn't see anything" because of the trees. On the freeway from western Massachusetts to Boston we would occasionally see a church spire sticking out above the tree tops. I did love the cute towns and architecture of the area once we pulled off the freeway.

[amarante]

I think a bathroom in the basement is useless unless it is used as an adjunct to space one uses and is an addition. I wouldn’t live in a house that didn’t have at least a powder room on the main level although I did rent a home with only one upstairs bath in college but I think dealing with kids or real guests isn’t something I would do as an adult. 

I don’t think most people deduct their offices because it is complicated. One can theoretically still deduct office equipment or Wifi. I worked from home years ago and did not deduct the space but did deduct for expenses relating to the office like computer and wifi. 

Edited April 22, 2022 by amarante

[DanielleBowden]

Chicago, I knew he'd pick the last house.  Location seemed to be the driver for him.  I think the crack in the wall was because of the window and hopefully wasn't a structural issue.  The Georgian looked to me like the basement had water issues and gosh that kitchen was something..

[Crashcourse]

I liked the Chicago guy and I hope that crack wasn't a serious structural issue. 

[amarante]

The New Mexico couple didn't mention actual living arrangements but I think in general that type of blended family would need to have separate bedrooms for each kid.

I think that bio siblings of the same sex can share a bedroom if necessary but I think it is not the best if you force two step-siblings to share a bedroom. 

Also I think that it gets very tricky if one sibling lives almost permanently in the home and the step siblings comes every other weekend or whatever and so shares a bedroom that is really the private domain of the kid who lives there almost all the time. The visiting sibling would not feel they really had a space of their own and the kid who lived there all the time would feel resentful that their space was being invaded.

I think the four bedrooms was really a necessity for them in order to blend the families smoothly.