House Hunters - General Discussion

[cameron]

Washington state buyers purchased home was certainly not what I call river front.  Looked more like a stream down the hill from the house. Couldn't kayak or boat on it because of size.

[Thumper]

4 hours ago, cameron said:

Washington state buyers purchased home was certainly not what I call river front.  Looked more like a stream down the hill from the house. Couldn't kayak or boat on it because of size.

It also looked dark inside to me.  But the back yard and view were nice!  Yes, more like a stream.

[chediavolo]

On 11/18/2023 at 6:46 PM, Hedgehog2022 said:

I wanted to like these two but their arrested development, 1967 flower power, love-in hippie vib was too much for me. A lot of retired men these days seem to embrace that look...the Hawaiian shirts, huge beards, nose rings and ear piercings and long hair. I've seen it even in suburbia...wife looked like she might be pregnant again. That raised ranch was small for their family and the exterior was unattractive. But at least he won't have to work and can do his "music"...ha ha.

She didn’t look pregnant to me. She looked like she was carrying her fat in her belly, typical apple shape.

On 11/7/2023 at 12:32 PM, chessiegal said:

I had in-laws that lived one block from the St. David's train station on the main line out of Philadelphia. You get used to the train noise.

I wish I was hearing train noise instead of my damn neighbors barking dogs

[ECM1231]

12 hours ago, cameron said:

Washington state buyers purchased home was certainly not what I call river front.  Looked more like a stream down the hill from the house. Couldn't kayak or boat on it because of size.

Oh gosh yes. 

[Grizzly]

Fairbanks, AK. I was interested in seeing how Alaskan these houses would be. All had indoor plumbing and no composting toilets so not in the boonies. The wife lucked out. Anyone watch Buying Alaska? She didn't. That show led me to watching HH & HHI. They picked the right house for them.

[laredhead]

9 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Anyone watch Buying Alaska?

I have watched Buying Alaska, and you are correct that the wife lucked out, and the husband didn't get his wish to live in a more rural area.  I like my creature comforts, and outdoor plumbing, composting toilets, and "dry cabins" are not my idea of comfort.  I was interested in the info on the screen about how much it costs to heat 2 of those places annually.  The house they bought had lower utility costs.  One of them, maybe the one they bought, had a generator and 2 very large propane tanks outside the house.  I enjoyed the episode, and it was different than so many that we often see.  I did like the wife's comments when she didn't like something about a house they were touring.  She didn't sugar coat her comments - lol.

[buttersister]

Fairbanks was fun to watch. First, it wasn’t Florida! The couple seemed nice and were respectful of each other. The realtor was normal and didn’t dress like Marty Raines.

 

Edited November 21, 2023 by buttersister

[CruiseDiva]

This is just a general comment about the show, which I have watched for years. 

When my husband and I were looking for houses the realtor drove us to each showing. I find it odd that realtors have seldom been shown driving House Hunters. Quite often it's the HH wife driving and I also find that unusual. My husband usually drove when we were going someplace unless he was ill and then I would drive.

Are my experiences similar to yours?

[chessiegal]

I think the pandemic had a lot to do with real estate agents driving separately, because I do remember an agent driving buyers on occasion. Our last purchase was a mix - agent driving us or us meeting him.

[chessiegal]

Based on comments here, I watched the Anchorage episode. They were a pleasant couple. I was surprised at how nice the houses were, but I'm sure that's what you can expect in the Anchorage area.

And the real estate agent drove them to the houses.

Edited November 21, 2023 by chessiegal

[Hedgehog2022]

19 hours ago, ECM1231 said:

Oh gosh yes. 

 

On 11/20/2023 at 6:48 AM, cameron said:

Washington state buyers purchased home was certainly not what I call river front.  Looked more like a stream down the hill from the house. Couldn't kayak or boat on it because of size.

With the climate change problems dealing with flooding and super storms, I would be very wary of buying anything by a river or even a stream. Let alone buying a home like this with small children who could wander off and drown. The husband was fixated on being by water...the house itself was dreary and dark. 

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, CruiseDiva said:

Are my experiences similar to yours?

Nope.  If we were going to be spending half a day touring multiple homes, I would drive to the office and then the agent would drive us to all the houses, but if just seeing one, I met her at the property. 

(As for who does the driving within a marriage, I am blissfully husband-free, but with my parents, if they're going somewhere together who drives simply depends on whose car they are taking, and they more often take my mom's, so she does most of the driving.  He drives their motorhome more than she does, though.)

[Crashcourse]

Alaska:  I figured they'd pick #2, it was the least expensive (and least quirky) of the houses.   While I guess people living in Alaska are used to it, I can't imagine moose casually wandering around in the yard.  

And one house had a $7,000 a year electric bill.  😲  Yeah, I know it's cold, but is that a normal figure in Alaska?

[chessiegal]

I must have misheard the agent. I thought he said the heating bill was $2K a year and was thinking how cheap that was. 🤷‍♀️

[ECM1231]

19 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

I must have misheard the agent. I thought he said the heating bill was $2K a year and was thinking how cheap that was. 🤷‍♀️

I thought the 2K heating bill was for the separate garage.

[chessiegal]

1 minute ago, ECM1231 said:

I thought the 2K heating bill was for the separate garage.

Okay, that's what I heard.

I'm surprised the houses didn't have heated floors.

[laredhead]

I think the A-frame house was an older house and the most expensive to heat.  The one they bought was newer and probably better insulated. 

[StatisticalOutlier]

I jut watched the episode.  The chyron for the A-frame house said heat was $7,000 a year.

Then in the house with the garage that had all the plumbing infrastructure in it, the agent said heat would be $2,000-$3,000 a year depending on the "usage of the garage."  I took that to mean how much you kept the garage itself heated to keep the plumbing from freezing as opposed to if you kept it warmer to be more comfortable, but now that I'm parsing the language I'm not so sure.

The standalone air conditioner with the giant hose through the window is heinous.

Like chessiegal I'm surprised that the floors weren't heated.  I lived in a ski town in the winter and the carpeted floors had in-floor heat and it was wonderful.  It maintained a perfect no-cold-spot temperature all winter long.  I think it's the most comfortable place I've ever lived.

5 hours ago, chessiegal said:

Based on comments here, I watched the Anchorage episode. They were a pleasant couple. I was surprised at how nice the houses were, but I'm sure that's what you can expect in the Anchorage area.

For the record, it was Fairbanks, where the University of Alaska is.  I noticed the agent said they were going "down" to North Pole to look at a house.  Heh.

Anybody else notice the satellite TV dishes on the roof of one of the houses?  They were vertical; TV satellites are positioned over the equator, so they're very low in the sky way up there. 

I'd love to see the northern lights from my warm house.

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 11/20/2023 at 6:48 AM, cameron said:

Washington state buyers purchased home was certainly not what I call river front.  Looked more like a stream down the hill from the house. Couldn't kayak or boat on it because of size.

But he said the salmon run in it, so maybe it was low when they were buying the house?

I loved it.  It was almost like a backyard water feature, and it looked like it might make a pleasant noise going over the rocks.

[cameron]

11 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

But he said the salmon run in it, so maybe it was low when they were buying the house?

I loved it.  It was almost like a backyard water feature, and it looked like it might make a pleasant noise going over the rocks.

Salmon tend to go upstream in shallow water - 18 inches.  

[laredhead]

12 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

  I noticed the agent said they were going "down" to North Pole to look at a house.  Heh.

There really is a North Pole, Alaska, and it's southeast of Fairbanks, and north of Elison AFB.  The post office gets thousands of letters to Santa each year.  CBS Sunday Morning did a story on it a few years ago.

[Kimboweena]

On 11/19/2023 at 8:41 AM, laredhead said:

The many military moves with 8 children isn't a typical family dynamic, but they seem to be happy. 

No, but we did know three families with 8+ children when Hubby was in the Marine Corps.  They did as much moving as we did.

[Notabug]

5 minutes ago, Kimboweena said:

No, but we did know three families with 8+ children when Hubby was in the Marine Corps.  They did as much moving as we did.

The husband was also in the Coast Guard, so no overseas postings.

[CousinAmy]

Some of these husbands really bug me. The wives (or partners) are seriously looking at houses that they hope will turn into family homes - while the husbands whine about video games and "a space for me." Where is the wife's space: the bedroom, the kitchen? They seem very childish to me, as if they're still teenagers who want to have that freedom from Mom's prying eyes. 

Maybe this is normal for their generation, which I've long since grown out of, so I don't really know. At least they don't call it a man cave anymore.

I can't remember which episode it was, but in the debating scene at the end a young couple both said the same two sentences - it was something about the in-unit washer/dryer, and each said, "I forgot about that." During the writers' and actors' strike I wondered if their lines were scripted and if that made them actors. 

It sounds like they are and they are.

 

Edited November 23, 2023 by CousinAmy

[kirklandia]

On 11/20/2023 at 3:48 AM, cameron said:

Washington state buyers purchased home was certainly not what I call river front.  Looked more like a stream down the hill from the house. Couldn't kayak or boat on it because of size.

I was confused - since Camas and Washougal are on the Columbia River,  that's what I expected to see.
I had to go check the map.They must be on the (considerably smaller) Washougal River. Pretty, but definitely a different vibe.

Edited November 23, 2023 by kirklandia

[chediavolo]

Why did the Washington couple want to move after doing all the renovations on their home ? Not to mention they said one of the couples parents had recently moved in next door? I must have missed the reason  for this. Otherwise , WTF? 
This is one of those episodes where I hate my life & wish I were rich. Those houses were dreams. 

Edited November 24, 2023 by chediavolo

[CousinAmy]

10 hours ago, chediavolo said:

Why did the Washington couple want to move after doing all the renovations on their home ? Not to mention they said one of the couples parents had recently moved in next door? I must have missed thevresfon for this. Otherwise , WTF? 
This is one of those episodes where I hate my life & wish I were rich. Those houses were dreams. 

He wanted a workshop with space to work on his own projects, as well as more land.

[snarts]

Ontario, California: I found her incredibly annoying, and was completely confused about where she was looking to purchase. She said she wanted to be closer to LA but one of the places seemed to be even further out based on the travel times they put on the screen. I wish the show would just show distance in miles, the times rarely take into account traffic. 50 miles from LA likely means a 2+ hour commute. 

Also perplexed by her statement that she was approved for $465k but was willing to go up to $550k. That's not really how it works, sweetie.

Not surprised that she bought the one in Montclair, paying her max of $465k. Noticed she was moving in before doing any of the renovations she absolutely had to have. 

Edited November 26, 2023 by snarts

[rhofmovalley]

Montclair is NOT "close" to Los Angeles.  Lordy, a morning commute into downtown would be an absolute nightmare and the commute home would be the seventh circle of hell.

[chediavolo]

On 11/23/2023 at 8:10 PM, CousinAmy said:

He wanted a workshop with space to work on his own projects, as well as more land.

He didn’t think of that before redoing their Dreamhouse? And having the relatives move in next-door?  I knew I disliked these people. They really sound selfish.

[laredhead]

Ontario, CA HH - when the realtor states multiple times that the HH is picky, that's not a good sign.  I don't think any place would satisfy that woman.  She really was annoying, and I couldn't figure out if she had vocal fry or was trying to the valley speak thing.  None of the places she looked at were great, IMO.  The she bought was most likely best suited for her needs, but I had to laugh when she said she hoped the pool noises would not distract her from work.  I lived next to a pool in an apartment complex when I was young, and it was noisy until late at night, especially on weekends.  I would never do that again.  

Her parents deserve an award for putting up with her.  

[cameron]

Long Island sure got a lot of house for that price.  The second place they looked at might have been in Levittown.  It looked liked a redo of an original Levitt home.

[ECM1231]

1 hour ago, cameron said:

Long Island sure got a lot of house for that price.  The second place they looked at might have been in Levittown.  It looked liked a redo of an original Levitt home.

The order of the homes shown was Northport, Huntington, and Kings Park. All Suffolk County. They chose the first home, the 3 bedroom ranch with in- law suite and pool. They paid $40K over the asking price.

The only thing that bothered me about the chosen house was the bonus room so far away. Perhaps if they put a door in the hallway leading into the main house, it won't be so bad. At the end they showed the older 2 children at their grandparents, and I realized that the son was older than I had thought. Northport is a lovely community right on the water. Good choice.

[laredhead]

3 hours ago, ECM1231 said:

Perhaps if they put a door in the hallway leading into the main house, it won't be so bad.

Cutting a doorway for access to the main house for that room won't be too costly, and adding a closet will make that house a true 4 bedroom house in addition to the guest quarters.  If you paid $40,000 over list, you can probably afford to have a doorway added.  Children really don't need to be next door to their parents' bedroom once they are no longer toddlers, IMO.

[cameron]

Found it interesting that the young husband  Savannah buyer didn't want to buy in the suburbs but bought on the Isle of Hope which definitely is a outer suburb of Savannah.  That place is going to take a lot of work.

Edited November 28, 2023 by cameron

[Notabug]

3 hours ago, cameron said:

Found it interesting that the young husband  Savannah buyer didn't want to buy in the suburbs but bought on the Isle of Hope which definitely is a outer suburb of Savannah.  That place is going to take a lot of work.

I noticed the same thing.  It's about a 20 minute drive from downtown Savannah without traffic.  The house in Savannah was nice, but, like a lot of older homes, had very small rooms and not a lot of options to remodel or expand with the tiny yard. Already having a child with plans for more made that house a bad choice for them.

You're right, though, the Isle of Hope house was in a town where they wanted to live had 'good bones', but not much else.  Virtually every room in that house needed some major repair or renovation.  At the end of the episode, it looked like they were tackling some major stuff right off the bat.  Lucky that the husband, his father and brothers had done some house flipping and were doing a lot of the work themselves although the plan to have it move in ready in just a few weeks seemed pretty ambitious.

[snarts]

Savannah, Georgia: They mentioned at the beginning of the episode that they renting in Isle of Hope and that all their friends & family lived there, so no surprise that they picked the fixer. I thought #1 was a much better option house-wise but obviously location was key for them.

Long Island, New York: I loved the house they chose. The lot alone was fantastic and I love sprawling ranches. Hearing that it's in a waterfront town makes it all the more appealing. 

 

[Grizzly]

Savannah, GA. They were decent actors. All the talk of investments had me thinking they would pick #3. The house they did buy looked to me like a money pit. Wonder if they'll try to flip it.

[Pine]

On 11/26/2023 at 11:52 AM, chediavolo said:

He didn’t think of that before redoing their Dreamhouse? And having the relatives move in next-door?  I knew I disliked these people. They really sound selfish.

Perhaps the in laws were unbearable.....

[laredhead]

Savannah couple where the husband kept saying he needed projects, which was a switch from needing a man cave or a space for himself.  However, when he kept saying he could do so many things, and then said running a gas line is no big deal, I began to wonder just how good at projects he was.  Running a gas line is a big deal, if you want to make sure safety is first priority.  I would only trust a licensed plumber to do that if I was installing a gas line.  Also, if he does end up running the line, and then sells the house, I sure wouldn't want to be the buyer who has no idea who did what to that house.  Yes, I know things like that happen every day because I live in a house that was the poster child for DYI remodelers before I bought it.  So many things were done to this house by non-professionals it isn't funny.  I paid for a good inspection on the house before buying, but unsafe things can be hidden in walls, and other places.  

On another note, those cedar shakes didn't look too good to me, and that house probably has a lot of deferred maintenance.  The lot was very large, and that probably counted toward much of the value.        

Edited November 29, 2023 by laredhead
Spelling correction

[chessiegal]

Virginia couple: Husband said that fortunately most of the furniture conveyed. Oh, sure it did. 🙄

[Grizzly]

59 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

Virginia couple: Husband said that fortunately most of the furniture conveyed. Oh, sure it did. 🙄

I missed the very beginning. What did they do to afford a mil + home?

[Thumper]

1 hour ago, chessiegal said:

Virginia couple: Husband said that fortunately most of the furniture conveyed. Oh, sure it did. 🙄

At less than the asking price, I believe.   Amazing!  😂

[Bastet]

7 hours ago, laredhead said:

However, when he kept saying he could do so many things, and then said running a gas line is no big deal, I began to wonder just how good at projects he was.  Running a gas line is a big deal, if you want to make sure safety is first priority.

Yes, but if you know what you're doing, simply tapping into an existing line to run a new pipe out to somewhere else isn't a big deal.  If you don't, it could be a disaster, of course, so it's a big if, but if you do know the safety precautions, the process itself isn't much different than if you're plumbing water lines.

If he really is that skilled, good for him, but TV loves to present incompetent DIY folks (of which there are indeed plenty, and fewer and fewer people other than those for whom it's their trade who have learned such skills) so who knows. 

[cameron]

6 hours ago, Grizzly said:

I missed the very beginning. What did they do to afford a mil + home?

House #1 was touted as being in the upscale suburb of Springfield.  While Springfield is okay, I certainly wouldn't call it upscale.

 

[laredhead]

9 hours ago, Grizzly said:

I missed the very beginning. What did they do to afford a mil + home?

He said they owned a company dealing with logistics - whatever that entails. 

It worried me that neither one of them could swim, yet he wanted to pool because it represented success.  That could be a danger, especially with children.  They all need to learn to swim well before acquiring a pool.  I would love to see the on-line pictures of that house because it went on forever.  Cannot imagine the utility bill.

[Lady Lucy]

Quote

House #1 was touted as being in the upscale suburb of Springfield.  While Springfield is okay, I certainly wouldn't call it upscale.

I was taken aback when I heard that. My son's family lives in Springfield. It's a lovely middle-class, family oriented suburb. But not upscale (close to upscale like Tyson's and McLean). And that house was way too close to a very busy street! 

 

[cameron]

1 minute ago, Lady Lucy said:

I was taken aback when I heard that. My son's family lives in Springfield. It's a lovely middle-class, family oriented suburb. But not upscale (close to upscale like Tyson's and McLean). And that house was way too close to a very busy street! 

 

Totally agree.

[ECM1231]

3 hours ago, cameron said:

House #1 was touted as being in the upscale suburb of Springfield.  While Springfield is okay, I certainly wouldn't call it upscale.

 

And yet the asking price was 1 million. Sounds pretty upscale to me. It's no wonder home ownership is out of reach for so many. 

The home they chose set them back 1.5 million. I have no idea what logistics is, but this couple, both immigrants, is living the American dream. Good for them!

[cameron]

38 minutes ago, ECM1231 said:

And yet the asking price was 1 million. Sounds pretty upscale to me. It's no wonder home ownership is out of reach for so many. 

The home they chose set them back 1.5 million. I have no idea what logistics is, but this couple, both immigrants, is living the American dream. Good for them!

Proximity to Washington is everything.  Short commute times drive up the prices big time.