House Hunters - General Discussion

[Crashcourse]

2 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

House 2 is a lovely traditional, Spanish style.   But it needs a bigger kitchen, according to the wife, so she wants to blow out a wall.  They call it a fixer, I think it needs a kitchen remodel and that's all, I love the screened area on the guest house.   I hope they didn't buy this one, they'll take all of the vintage, original charm out of it.   

That was a lovely house.  I was hoping they wouldn't choose that one because of all the things the wife wanted to do to it.  Sadly, they did.

[Hedgehog2022]

Tampa couple...these two were so annoying! Him with the constant harangue about "equity" and "sweat equity" and her with her charcuterie boards...both seemed like high maintenance people...even his hair looked high maintenance. 

[Grizzly]

Kingsport, TN. So she's a dentist and he's a doctor. They are surprised that a house with acreage doesn't have close neighbors? She thinks 2300 Sq ft is a starter home? And if you buy a brand new shower curtain (I personally love buying funky designs for my shower curtains), it won't be germy. After all that, I like them as a couple.

[Grizzly]

New Haven, CT. A college degree auditor, does that mean she makes sure people have all the credits they need to graduate? I wonder if she works at Yale or Southern. House #1 looked good. With each of them needing a bedroom, it really makes a 3 bedroom house small for them. #2 was too retro for my taste. #3 could be a contender. I liked the backyard. 

[chediavolo]

18 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Tuesday's new one, "Trading Up Again in Tampa", they flipped two houses in Tampa already, and he wants another fixer, and she wants turnkey, and they want to stay long term. They flip and rent out the houses.  He wants to redo something on the house, and she refuses to do that again. Budget is $650k to $700k.  

House 1, central Tampa, updated ranch, inside is totally redone, for $639k. This house looks very familiar.  I wonder if it's been a decoy on another episode?   There's no bathtub for the wife or Hendricks (the kid), I guess she thinks people without tubs never bathe their kids?    No pool, no tub. 

House 2 is a lovely traditional, Spanish style.   But it needs a bigger kitchen, according to the wife, so she wants to blow out a wall.  They call it a fixer, I think it needs a kitchen remodel and that's all, I love the screened area on the guest house.   I hope they didn't buy this one, they'll take all of the vintage, original charm out of it.   

House 3 not in town, and husband is whining about it. It has a pool, and it's a ranch. It  looks like every other suburban house built in the last 20 years.  They want to paint the exterior, rip out all of the tile floors.  She wants to change the kitchen to white cabinets, change the back splash, pretyy much turn it into every other flip kitchen we've seen in the last five years. fireplace offends her fashion sense.  Pool is big, and has the screen room.   

They buy #2.   I'm sad for what that house should have been. 

Agree. Kitchen remodel is all that’s needed. She’s going to ruin it. I hate when people buy a beautiful old house with features that cannot be duplicated or replaced, and then modernize it. I wish they did not buy it also. 

[edie3]

10 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Kingsport, TN.

It's 

a·puh·la·chn!!!

[rhofmovalley]

12 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Kingsport, TN. So she's a dentist and he's a doctor. They are surprised that a house with acreage doesn't have close neighbors? She thinks 2300 Sq ft is a starter home? And if you buy a brand new shower curtain (I personally love buying funky designs for my shower curtains), it won't be germy. After all that, I like them as a couple.

I prefer cloth shower curtains with a liner. You simply throw the shower curtain in the wash machine a couple times a month and replace the liner when it gets funky. I despise cleaning shower doors because no matter how often I clean it or what I do, I can't quite get all the mildew out of the edges and corners. Gross. 

[mojito]

2 hours ago, rhofmovalley said:

You simply throw the shower curtain in the wash machine a couple times a month and replace the liner when it gets funky.

I throw the liner in the washing machine, too. Just did that yesterday.

New Haven

Loved how this couple admitted to sleeping in separate rooms. Reminded me of that episode in "The King of Queens" when, through a furniture store mistake, Doug and Carrie learned to appreciate sleeping in separate (twin) beds.

Did anyone else find themselves thinking, "You might have better luck conceiving if you slept in the same bed"? Yeah, I'm sure they've heard that crack many times.

I kinda like that they picked the house with only two bedrooms. No rush for fixing up the attic, and if it becomes a necessity, that's a happy inconvenience.

 

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 12/21/2022 at 10:50 AM, amarante said:

Since the OP practiced telemedicine a good Wifi connection would be essential.   ...

I live in a metropolitan area so "rays" from cell towers is the least of my concerns in terms of pollution

As I said, I'm not clear on his objection.  Wouldn't wifi in one's house have "rays" too? 

8 minutes ago, mojito said:

I throw the liner in the washing machine, too. Just did that yesterday.

She also complained that the shower curtain billows and touches her.  I don't like that, either, but I think it happens only with the fabric-y ones that hotels have and not the vinyl/plastic ones I've always had.

But that reminds me of a recent trend, where showers have a partial glass wall and no door or curtain.  I took a shower at a health club just yesterday that had that, and I noticed that the glass wall was fully wet all the way to its trailing vertical edge, and investigated further and water had splashed out the opening you walk through. 

I'm gathering that in order for water not to splash out the opening, it would have to way far back, which seems like it would be a big waste of space.  I'm wondering if they look cool but aren't really all that functional.

8 minutes ago, mojito said:

Did anyone else find themselves thinking, "You might have better luck conceiving if you slept in the same bed"?

I certainly did. 

That guy had a strange build--very top-heavy--and a strange walk.  I was imagining that he'd take up an inordinate amount of room in a bed, operate like a furnace, and maybe snore, and if he snores, he'll snore loud.  Although she said he could have a separate bed in the same room if the room is big enough, but no room is big enough if snoring is going on.

[Grrarrggh]

43 minutes ago, mojito said:

Did anyone else find themselves thinking, "You might have better luck conceiving if you slept in the same bed"? Yeah, I'm sure they've heard that crack many times.

Ida know, I'm sure they've conceived many a great idea in their separate beds ;) And doesn't absence make the heart grow fonder?

Edited December 22, 2022 by Grrarrggh

[CrazyInAlabama]

Michigan to Kingsport TN.  Realtor is the mayor of Bristol, VA, Anthony Farnum. His budget $600k, her budget is $400k.  He also wants a couple of acres.   Taylor is a dentist, and Charlie is a doctor. 

House 1 in Abingdon VA. so, welcome to paying taxes in two states possibly.  Vintage house, she wants vintage, but dislikes everything in the house.     30 minutes from Kingsport to Abingdon, that's snow country, so 30 minutes can easily get to an hour or more on an icy or snowy day.  (Note to narrator, it's Abingdon with a "d" , not Abing-ton).   Tennessee doesn't have personal income tax either, but Virginia does.  I love the house, but I wouldn't live 30 minutes away from work with mountain roads.   ( If you don't like germy shower curtains, then get the PEVA or EVA, have a stack of them, and get the shower hooks with the roller tops, and it takes 30 seconds to put another curtain up. )     

House 2-Johnson City, TN, it's almost 30 minutes from Kingsport too.  $469,900, on more than 2 acres.  Please tell me that the house hunters understand septic system and wells, unless the house is on city water and/or sewer.  I have to laugh that Charlie asks if the leaning, old shack is on their property, yes it is, and it needs to go.  

#3 $389k Kingsport, TN, 6 year old suburban house.  lovely kitchen, lots of counter space.  gigantic walk-in pantry.   bathrooms have tile.  Only the bedrooms have carpet, so do the main bedroom first before move in, and then do the other two bedrooms before you put beds in there.  Basement is walkout, with a Murphy bed, and full bathroom.  Actually, they could move into the basement bedroom for a couple of weeks, and then have the bedroom floors changed to wood, and then move the bedroom furniture in. 

They pick #3 , I would have picked #3 for the short drive.   Then, when they pay their student loans down in a few years, they can get a bigger home in Kingsport. 

Starting a Family in New Haven.   Colby & Chris, They met online, and hate avocados.   They bought his parents house, and then sold it, now living with her parents.    He's a tall guy, so he needs room.   They also sleep separately.   She wants vintage, he doesn't.   Budget is $370k for her, approved for $400k so that's what he wants.  Moose is their agent, Chris' friend from elementary school. Akenmisire  "Moose" Musa.  Chris wants a place to hang his guitars, and have his drum kit. 

House 1- Raised ranch, $399k , recent price drop, I would call it a split level, or a big level, up stairs to living space from the front door, living/dining/kitchen is newly redone, open, and totally done.   Bedrooms on main floor with living space, Since they need separate bedrooms, two of the bedrooms will be theirs, and she gets the main with the ensuite. They need two bedrooms for themselves, 1 for office, so guests and future kids are out of luck.  Basement is redone, with egress windows, family room in basement has ceiling speakers, yard is big, but deck is smaller, but there are stairs, so they could do a patio at ground level. 

House 2-2 story, older house, $349k, Cape Cod, older. 1st floor bedroom primary is decent size, full bath on this floor, 2 bedrooms upstairs, with a full bath, unfinished basement with 'potential'.   Kitchen is small and old.   back decd is nice size.  fenced yard for the dog. 

House 3-2 bedrooms but they could build up.   $325,kitchen is redone with a big island, both bedrooms are on the first floor, upstairs in not finished.    main bedroom is huge.  Upstairs is unfinished attic space, so they could do a main suite up there.   (Hope all of the people who want to expand to the attic have a structural engineer consult before they buy).   The house has a well, and septic (I wouldn't touch that house for the well and septic issue). 

They buy 3, I would have bought 1.   I would never have bought #3 for the well and septic issues. 

 

[chessiegal]

10 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

have to laugh that Charlie asks if the leaning, old shack is on their property,

I laughed that he called it a barn!

12 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I would never have bought #3 for the well and septic issues. 

We're on a well and septic for 11 years now. Never had a problem.

[CrazyInAlabama]

14 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

I laughed that he called it a barn!

We're on a well and septic for 11 years now. Never had a problem.

They're in Connecticut, I would worry about the well having issues with the severe cold in that area, and I would have to have the septic serviced and certified before I went forward with that house.  

[chessiegal]

2 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

They're in Connecticut, I would worry about the well having issues with the severe cold in that area, and I would have to have the septic serviced and certified before I went forward with that house.  

We have severe cold in our area sometimes. Never had a problem.

[amarante]

3 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

As I said, I'm not clear on his objection.  Wouldn't wifi in one's house have "rays" too? 

 

I am not anti-cell phone radiation but my understanding is that among certain "crunchy" people there is a belief that radiofrequency waves are dangerous. This is completely discredited but lives on in the world of pseudo-scientists like vaccines causing autism. It is the reason why some people fight cell phone towers being built even while they complain about poor reception. Currently there is a fight among the rich and privileged in Bedford because Richard Gere is permitting a cell tower on his property

Based on his belief in something that has been discredited scientifically I wouldn't want to use his services as a doctor because god knows what other stuff he advises against or misdiagnoses

Edited December 22, 2022 by amarante

[Grizzly]

Texas to Maryland. Could do a drinking game with "Corpus". The realtor is hot.

[CrazyInAlabama]

Corpus to Maryland was interesting.    The third house totally fooled me when they showed the trampoline, and a lot of what the family wanted, at a good price.  However, I figured the second house was a decoy, when they made such a show of 'it comes furnished'.    Most of the big builders where I've lived don't sell the models furnished, when they are ready to sell the model, they move the furnishings to the next house.       I love how all of the house hunters give their demand list, and don't realize that a lot of subdivisions don't allow fences, or trampolines, or other items they want to cram the tiny yards with. 

Gaithersburg to Bethesda on Metro (the subway, rail system in the D.C. area) should have been explained as an option for commutes too. 

A friend here in Alabama has a very strange house.   The driveway regularly washes out and needs repair, any time they need to update something electrical they find something strange, and they have septic (it works fine), but the little well house has big issues.    They have to keep a 100 watt bulb burning on on cold nights, or the pipes freeze, and of course, the bulb burns out right before.    You wouldn't think it would be an issue, but apparently the house was built by amateurs, or DIY, so there are issues.   

Edited December 28, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[cameron]

1 hour ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Corpus to Maryland was interesting.    The third house totally fooled me when they showed the trampoline, and a lot of what the family wanted, at a good price.  However, I figured the second house was a decoy, when they made such a show of 'it comes furnished'.    Most of the big builders where I've lived don't sell the models furnished, when they are ready to sell the model, they move the furnishing to the next house.       I love how all of the house hunters give their demand list, and don't realize that a lot of subdivisions don't allow fences, or trampolines, or other items they want to cram the tiny yards with. 

Good luck with that commute to Bethesda.  Going to be a lot of traffic.  Knew that their price was unrealistic for the Bethesda area.  "Ain't" going to happen.  If she used the word "wow" one more time in her descriptions.

 

[rhofmovalley]

23 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

They're in Connecticut, I would worry about the well having issues with the severe cold in that area, and I would have to have the septic serviced and certified before I went forward with that house.  

They said during the reveal that they had the system inspected thoroughly and no issues were found.

I know less than nothing about septic systems, but I am curious about the health benefits of well water particularly since the tap water in Southern California tastes so wretched.

[chessiegal]

32 minutes ago, rhofmovalley said:

but I am curious about the health benefits of well water particularly since the tap water in Southern California tastes so wretched.

We have a water purification system on our well water. Part of our home inspection was to have the water tested - passed all required tests. It requires salt to be added to it a few times a year. Without the purification system, one thing that happens is that without it, we get iron. We found out when part of it broke and had to be replaced.

We still get a water and wastewater bill every quarter from the county. It's the same every month and based on square footage and number of bathrooms.🙄

[cinsays]

Just watched the one with the couple moving from the west coast to the Lake Geneva area this morning.  i would dump the guy and his houseful of shoes and move on.  How many times did we have to hear about his dear shoes.  ugh.

[rhofmovalley]

The kid's name is Dais? The thing artist's models stand on while they're being painted? 

Good God...

[Grizzly]

Louisville, KY.  My nose ring aversion is getting a work-out tonight. So far I'm liking ....  Andrew's voice. The houses have been good sized and updated for reasonable prices. Has the ridiculous home prices not hit Louisville? I missed the open, how old is Dais? 

[Grrarrggh]

13 hours ago, cinsays said:

Just watched the one with the couple moving from the west coast to the Lake Geneva area this morning.  i would dump the guy and his houseful of shoes and move on.  How many times did we have to hear about his dear shoes.  ugh.

Or his oh so dear lake that he hadn't even visited since he was in high school.

[CrazyInAlabama]

Don't the Louisville house hunters realize that the basements aren't used for living space because of the flood potential, and high water table in a lot of places?   

 Andrew and Mandi, and the kid's name is Dais is 13, but they've only known each other for 12 years, and dating for 6.   Budget is $200k to $250. In the second house, she wants to paint a room "Celestrial Blue" Celestial, is a real word, so she was close.    

How do a line cook, and a paralegal buy a home for $200k to $250k with renos?   

Second home is huge, $199k 4 bed 3 bath, but no parking except on gravel out front.   Not charming enough for Miss Picky. Back yard is tiny, and very close to the neighbors.  

Third house is hysterical, a mid-century style, where they can't figure out the open concept living, dining and kitchen arrangement.   And the back yard is fenced, but has some kinds of huge drainage ditch behind the fence.   $225k, basement and bath in the basement are finished, but no egress windows.  Kitchen is pretty small.  I'm wondering if the new basement carpet and paint is to cover up a water issue?  Since the house has that big ditch behind it, I'm betting a water issue is a permanent problem with that house. 

They bought # 1.  It did have the best kitchen.    $189900, list and that's what they paid, but that basement is not good for living space.   No egress windows mean no use of the basement to me, except for utilities, or laundry.     

Edited December 29, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[cameron]

6 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Don't the Louisville house hunters realize that the basements aren't used for living space because of the flood potential, and high water table in a lot of places?     Andrew and Mandi, and the kid's name is Dais is 13, but they've only known each other for 12 years, and dating for 6.   Budget is $200k to $250. In the second house, she wants to paint a room "Celestrial Blue" Celestial.   

How do a line cook, and a paralegal buy a home for $200k to $250k with renos?   

 

Second home is huge, $199k 4 bed 3 bath, but no parking except on gravel out front.   Not charming enough for Miss Picky. Back yard is tiny, and very close to the neighbors.  

Third house is hysterical, a mid-century style, where they can't figure out the open concept living, dining and kitchen arrangement.   And the back yard is fenced, but has some kinds of huge drainage ditch behind the fence.   $225k, basement and bath in the basement are finished, but no egress windows.  Kitchen is pretty small.  I'm wondering if the new basement carpet and paint is to cover up a water issue?  

They bought # 1.  It did have the best kitchen.    $189900, list and that's what they paid, but that basement is not good for living space.   

Both the realtor and the female home buyer were sporting a lot of tats.  Must have been a fire sale some where on defacing your body.

 

[Crashcourse]

I thought it was ironic that the Louisville guy was a line cook, considering how painfully thin he looked.  

[Vivigirl10]

6 hours ago, cameron said:

Both the realtor and the female home buyer were sporting a lot of tats.  Must have been a fire sale some where on defacing your body.

I was more curious about the dance troupe the realtor said they both belonged to?!

On 12/21/2022 at 11:05 AM, CrazyInAlabama said:

House 2 is a lovely traditional, Spanish style.   But it needs a bigger kitchen, according to the wife, so she wants to blow out a wall.  They call it a fixer, I think it needs a kitchen remodel and that's all, I love the screened area on the guest house.   I hope they didn't buy this one, they'll take all of the vintage, original charm out of it.   

Back to the Tampa episode.  I wept for that beautiful, beautiful home.  They didn't even seem to recognize that it had a butler's pantry 😔  And that gorgeous windowed room off of the primary that she wanted to turn into a bathroom.  The fact that she wanted to put a mantle across the fireplace and cover up the inset feature was the immediate indicator that she had no business being in that type of home.  I understand that they had just moved in but I was shocked in the final shots by how God awful messy every room was!  

I believe a home can be remodeled in an updated way, you don't have to live with everything "vintage".  But I just think they likely went full on destruction mode.

But "Hendricks"?  Come on, did we really need to know anything else? 

[Angeltoes]

19 hours ago, rhofmovalley said:

The kid's name is Dais? The thing artist's models stand on while they're being painted? 

Good God...

Maybe it's short for Amadeus.

[Grrarrggh]

9 hours ago, Kiki620 said:

Back to the Tampa episode.  

But "Hendricks"?  Come on, did we really need to know anything else? 

Wasn't it Hendrix? 

[Grizzly]

Baltimore/DC. Christina seems very young. Glad the mom pointed out that she's spoiled. Who's fault is that, mom? House #1 was well done but I dislike the narrowness of row homes. Of course the most expensive won, but a long commute is a deal breaker.

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 12/27/2022 at 10:10 PM, rhofmovalley said:

The kid's name is Dais? The thing artist's models stand on while they're being painted? 

Good God...

At least they pronounced it correctly.  A dais is also where groups like city commissioners sit during public meetings, and people invariably pronounce it "die-iss," which can't even be done from how it's spelled.

[CrazyInAlabama]

On the Baltimore/D.C. home hunt, the row house was so narrow.    Having the side of the galley kitchen parallel to the stair rail wouldn't work for me.   Also, how reliable is the train to D.C.? (a friend lived south of D.C., and stopped riiding the train that went right in front of her condo, because of huge delays, apparently her part of the tracks were rented, and maintenance often screwed up the commutes.   That was about 10 years ago, so I'm betting it was fixed. )

    I liked the new townhouse they bought, but the husband whining about the from yard mowing was absurd.  I'm guessing there's a lawn service that will take care of the front yard for a minimal price.   I could mow that with a little electric mower in 10 minutes at the most.   And I wouldn't be surprised if the complex had a mowing crew.   

Those yards looked very well maintained for something each homeowner does.    If husband didn't want to do any outside landscaping, then they should have bought in a full service complex.  

Edited December 29, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[chessiegal]

5 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Also, how reliable is the train to D.C.? 

Reliable enough that thousands of people use it every day for their commute. When my husband worked in DC, he had a colleague that took Amtrak from Philadelphia every day. The MARC trains are reliable too.

[amarante]

The Baltimore row houses were originally intended as homes for poor people as are similar style homes in places like Pittsburg. They are the equivalent of tenement apartments in New York City or council type of homes in London.

The areas became gentrified and so homes have been remodeled in an attempt to make them more in line with trends of first time home buyers. Hence the ridiculous open kitchen layout in the Baltimore home which made very little functional space. A galley kitchen is fine but that galley kitchen seemed to have an "aisle" that was narrower than even most small urban galley kitchens.

I think a lot of the market are people who are starting out who want to live in a close In neighborhood - the same market that buys studio apartments in New York City. 

My friends bought such a modest home in Adams Morgan (DC) as their first home and then moved to a regular size home in the DC suburbs when their baby became a toddler. 

[rhofmovalley]

16 hours ago, Angeltoes said:

Maybe it's short for Amadeus.

In the caption it was spelled "Dais".

Well, it is a word I've never seen used as someone's name before so I'll give them that. I used to work with a young woman whose name is "Clarity". My brother thought that was the strangest name ever but I think it's kind of pretty 🤷‍♀️

[mojito]

On 12/27/2022 at 9:10 PM, rhofmovalley said:

The kid's name is Dais?

The letter "V" is extremely expensive, so the mother decided to make do.

20 hours ago, Angeltoes said:

Maybe it's short for Amadeus.

The closed caption spelled it "Dais". Perhaps you're right, though.

10 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I liked the new townhouse they bought, but the husband whining about the from yard mowing was absurd.   I could mow that with a little electric mower in 10 minutes at the most. 

A battery-operated weedwhacker was all that was needed. And where is it written that the husband must do the mowing?

He was a bit annoying. He wanted everything he had as a child, but he wanted to own it. No consideration for a little back yard space for his future children. I'd think maybe he'd want a little bit more for his kids than he had. 

Charlotte Area, NC

Fifty-something parents want a big home to house four still-at-home-children and to entertain 31 year-old daughter who has 6 children.  (SIX???)  I liked that someone who pronounced decor "dee core" could afford a 1 point something million-dollar home. She seemed cognizant of their aging because she wanted a master bedroom on the first floor. She didn't get that.  I wonder if, in 10 years or so, they decide that they have too much home to maintain. She wanted this to be their last home.

YouTube TV dumped several House Hunters episodes at once. 

Edited December 29, 2022 by mojito

[cameron]

1 hour ago, amarante said:

The Baltimore row houses were originally intended as homes for poor people as are similar style homes in places like Pittsburg. They are the equivalent of tenement apartments in New York City or council type of homes in London.

The areas became gentrified and so homes have been remodeled in an attempt to make them more in line with trends of first time home buyers. Hence the ridiculous open kitchen layout in the Baltimore home which made very little functional space. A galley kitchen is fine but that galley kitchen seemed to have an "aisle" that was narrower than even most small urban galley kitchens.

I think a lot of the market are people who are starting out who want to live in a close In neighborhood - the same market that buys studio apartments in New York City. 

My friends bought such a modest home in Adams Morgan (DC) as their first home and then moved to a regular size home in the DC suburbs when their baby became a toddler. 

Actually those row houses were mostly occupied by working class and also ethnic families.  Now they are being rehabbed and bought by your professionals who want to live in the city.  That style is very common when those houses were being built in Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia, Annapolis, etc.   That is how in town living was then in colonial america when they were built.

Edited December 29, 2022 by cameron

[amarante]

3 hours ago, cameron said:

Actually those row houses were mostly occupied by working class and also ethnic families.  Now they are being rehabbed and bought by your professionals who want to live in the city.  That style is very common when those houses were being built in Baltimore, Washington, Philadelphia, Annapolis, etc.   That is how in town living was then in colonial america when they were built.

Yes the working poor which is what I stated - they were built to house poor people - mill workers. These were not homes built to house the middle class. 

That is why they were small just as the tenement apartments in places like New York City were small. These were never intended to provide any kind of gracious living to the inhabitants.

ETA In Baltimore many of those small row homes - ironically those near the harbor - housed the stevedores and other working poor who worked at the docks. The second season of the brilliant series The Wire touched tangentially on the issue of gentrification driving out the working class dock workers as well as eliminating their traditional livelihoods as unloading ships became essentially unloading the large containers. By "ironic" I meant that those neighborhoods close to the water became highly desirable as they gentrified.

FWIW, the word tenement was a technical term to describe housing in New York City - there is actually a differentiation between Old Law Tenements and New Law Tenements as the New Law Tenements had to have an air shaft. Eventually the Code for apartments changed which is when you got the ubiquitous style of a building built around a central courtyard.

Townhouses that housed the wealthier or middle classes were wider - i.e. the brownstones that were built. 

While Dais is not a common name - it is actually a name - ranked 17,923 in popularity in 2019

What kind of name is Dais?

German: probably a variant of Deis Probably an altered form of Portuguese Días (see Dias ). African American: probably an altered form of English Days .

Edited December 29, 2022 by amarante

[Crashcourse]

Baltimore/DC:  That big ol' whiny man baby annoyed me.  The new build they chose was the best option though.

[Hedgehog2022]

11 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

On the Baltimore/D.C. home hunt, the row house was so narrow.    Having the side of the galley kitchen parallel to the stair rail wouldn't work for me.   Also, how reliable is the train to D.C.? (a friend lived south of D.C., and stopped riiding the train that went right in front of her condo, because of huge delays, apparently her part of the tracks were rented, and maintenance often screwed up the commutes.   That was about 10 years ago, so I'm betting it was fixed. )

    I liked the new townhouse they bought, but the husband whining about the from yard mowing was absurd.  I'm guessing there's a lawn service that will take care of the front yard for a minimal price.   I could mow that with a little electric mower in 10 minutes at the most.   And I wouldn't be surprised if the complex had a mowing crew.   

Those yards looked very well maintained for something each homeowner does.    If husband didn't want to do any outside landscaping, then they should have bought in a full service complex.  

That guy was a pain in the butt...he only wanted the Baltimore home that was smaller and not as roomy. He had so many negative comments about the other homes it was annoying. They chose the new build townhouse which was OK but not much on privacy...their deck backed out to the parking garages and looked at all the other decks. I got the feeling their agent was glad to close the deal...she earned her commission on this one.

[Hedgehog2022]

On 12/23/2022 at 4:30 AM, CrazyInAlabama said:

Corpus to Maryland was interesting.    The third house totally fooled me when they showed the trampoline, and a lot of what the family wanted, at a good price.  However, I figured the second house was a decoy, when they made such a show of 'it comes furnished'.    Most of the big builders where I've lived don't sell the models furnished, when they are ready to sell the model, they move the furnishings to the next house.       I love how all of the house hunters give their demand list, and don't realize that a lot of subdivisions don't allow fences, or trampolines, or other items they want to cram the tiny yards with. 

Gaithersburg to Bethesda on Metro (the subway, rail system in the D.C. area) should have been explained as an option for commutes too. 

A friend here in Alabama has a very strange house.   The driveway regularly washes out and needs repair, any time they need to update something electrical they find something strange, and they have septic (it works fine), but the little well house has big issues.    They have to keep a 100 watt bulb burning on on cold nights, or the pipes freeze, and of course, the bulb burns out right before.    You wouldn't think it would be an issue, but apparently the house was built by amateurs, or DIY, so there are issues.   

I was very surprised they chose the new build that had no yard and was right across the street from a large construction site. But I guess getting it fully furnished was too good to pass up.

[CrazyInAlabama]

New, "A Mansion in Chicago".   He wants a huge house, but she's more cautious.  They're looking on the West side.    Budget $250k to 275k her budget, his is $380k.   Brian and Jessica, he's a stunt performer, and voice over artist, she's a social worker.  She doesn't want grass, cement, clover, gravel, not grass There moving from a 2 bedroom apartment.   He wants higher windows, so he can see out, but people can't peer in (egress windows don't allow that.   LIke Jessica's co-worker says, what can you get in a nice neighborhood for $250k?  She's obsessed with ripping out grass, and planting something for the pollenators. 

House 1-7 bed 4 bath $386k, 3 parks close by, turnkey, great remodel. lovely kitchen, great 1st floor bath, main floor bedroom, and potential office, downstairs, back yard is too grassy for her, basement bathroom, and family room, primary bedroom is lovely with a spectacular ensuite, 2 more guest rooms, and another bath, realtor says house was on market for 60 days, and it's overpriced. 

House 2-$325k, single family, built in 1885, it's in Austin, 3 bed 2.5 bath, high ceilings, living is nice, with beautiful kitchen, decent dining area, basement is old style Chicago basement, low ceilings and waterproofed walls, upstairs bedrooms, primary has a strange little closet, she wants to rip the carpet out.    There's a bonus room in the former attic for a recording studio for him.  (The heavy costs of waterproof coating through out the basement made me wonder if that's why it was such a good price? )

House 3-Humboldt Park, 3 bed 2 bath, raised ranch, and it's small, $314,900, a bonus room in the basement with 950 sq ft more, first floor bedroom is smaller, 3 bedrooms and 1 bath on first (main) floor, kitchen is remodeled, backyard is all concrete, back/alley entry from alley, with a door into the back court yard, no egress windows in basement, 2nd full bath in the basement.

They bought #2, gives her a first floor office, and his studio is upstairs in a tiny room, $325k list is what they paid.   I hate the basement, it looks like a previous water problem, and that's probably going to come back.    I would have bought 1 for the space, and remodel anything they didn't like.

The San Francisco/Oakland episode was awful.   I hated the first option, but liked the one in Oakland.   I hate the one-sided episodes where one hunter gets everything they want, and the other partner doesn't get anything they want. 

Edited December 30, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[Chippings]

San Francisco episode on Wednesday night -- three possible options, to meet completely conflicting requirements:  Being in San Francisco and being in Oakland.  I yelped when they chose the Victorian in the Haight in SF -- so many things they totally didn't want, including that stupid garage you had to  share with the neighbors and negotiate every time you needed to drive in and out.   The ridiculous "yard" in the Victorian (also 'shared') was a no-go too.  Also when they were looking at the high-rise condo, nobody ever mentioned having to take the dog down 35 stories in the elevator to let him pee or have a run.  Poor doggy!  San Francisco isn't that great these days anyway -- overpriced and largely not really safe, or so I hear.  

Finally, it's always annoying to watch the couples with the no-compromise wife (one recently actually said "I always win").  OK, Me.  Calm down.  It would've been nice to see better options than these three were.  

[cameron]

7 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

New, "A Mansion in Chicago".   He wants a huge house, but she's more cautious.  They're looking on the West side.    Budget $250k to 275k her budget, his is $380k.  k. Brian and Jessica, he's a stunt performer, and voice over artist, she's a social worker.  She doesn't want grass, cement, clover, gravel, not grass There moving from a 2 bedroom apartment.   He wants higher windows, so he can see out, but people can't peer in (egress windows don't allow that.   LIke Jessica's co-worker says, what can you get in a nice neighborhood for $250k.  She's obsessed with ripping out grass, and planting something for the pollenators. 

House 1-7 bed 4 bath $386k, 3 parks close by, turnkey, great remodel. lovely kitchen, great 1st floor bath, main floor bedroom, and potential office, downstairs, back yard is too grassy for her, basement bathroom, and family room, primary bedroom is lovely with a spectacular ensuite, 2 more guest rooms, and another bath, realtor says house was on market for 60 days, and it's overpriced. 

House 2-$325k, single family, built in 1885, it's in Austin, 3 bed 2.5 bath, high ceilings, living is nice, with beautiful kitchen, decent dining area, basement is old style Chicago basement, low ceilings and waterproofed walls, upstairs bedrooms, primary has a strange little closet, she wants to rip the carpet out.    There's a bonus room in the former attic for a recording studio for him. 

House 3-Humboldt Park, 3 bed 2 bath, raised ranch, and it's small, $314,900, a bonus room in the basement with 950 sq ft more, first floor bedroom is smaller, 3 bedrooms and 1 bath on first (main) floor, kitchen is remodeled, backyard is all concrete, back/alley entry from alley, with a door into the back court yard, no egress windows in basement, 2nd full bath in the basement.

They bought #2, gives her a first floor office, and his studio is upstairs in a tiny room, $325k list is what they paid.   I hate the basement, it looks like a previous water problem, and that's probably going to come back.    I would have bought 1 for the space, and remodel.

After having lived in Chicago for 10 years; totally surprised how much house you can get in the Austin area for that low of a price.  Not impressed with the Humboldt Park area place though.

[mojito]

Chicago

The husband's concern about people looking into his home made me wonder more about his activities than those of others. What is he doing that no one walking along the sidewalk and glancing at the house can't see? Does he spend time peeping into other people's homes?

The realtor referred to the two corner windows (one of which faced a brick wall that looked maybe 5 feet away) as 3D. Well, that's creative. I guess.

I didn't know anyone could get so much for so low a price in a decent Chicago area. Hope it's both desirable and  safe.

[chessiegal]

I don't understand the angst about people looking in your windows during the daytime. Our house sits 25 feet back from the street (no sidewalks) and I can't see into our windows during the day beyond something that is in the window.

[amarante]

I can't comment on specific homes and whether the people are justified in thinking there is a lack of privacy.

However in terms of my home choices, I would never want to live in a home where the shades had to be drawn for privacy and the reality is that if people can see what is happening in your home, you aren't really private.

I don't think only peeping Toms are what is the issue but if any passersby and one would have to be conscious all the time of whether you are dressed or engaged in activities you are comfortable with having viewed by strangers.

[CrazyInAlabama]

People like the Chicago husband, don't realize the speed of a fire, and you need egress windows, or another door to get outside quickly.    If you have window wells you can get secure grates that can only be opened from below for safety from intruders.    The fact the Chicago and other location realtors mention you can use a basement for living space without egress, then I guess the authorities don't enforce safety rules.   

The Louisville realtor did the same thing.   You know Dais is going to spend his whole life in that basement, so having that mattress and things he put in the basement is risky.   

Another factor people forget who always have uncovered windows is a potential burglar can see what valuables you have, and if you're home or not, if you have dogs, or an alarm system.      

A safety tip, when you get expensive items like TVs, or something that comes in a labeled box, don't put the box out in the recycle, or with the trash, easy for burglars to see you have new stuff.   

Edited December 31, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[Grrarrggh]

4 hours ago, mojito said:

Chicago

The husband's concern about people looking into his home made me wonder more about his activities than those of others. What is he doing that no one walking along the sidewalk and glancing at the house can't see?

I think as a Black man, especially with a White wife, he's (sadly) right to be concerned.