House Hunters - General Discussion

[buttersister]

In his case, perhaps an overly large house was supposed to make up for other shortcomings.

[pdlinda]

3 hours ago, buttersister said:

In his case, perhaps an overly large house was supposed to make up for other shortcomings.

My exact thoughts!😆

He said he was a "business consultant."  I wonder what that means???

The wife's job as an asst. professor was probably secure; however, I wonder how secure HIS INCOME IS, especially in these turbulent times! 

There was also a large difference in the ages of their children.  Maybe they're planning on expanding their family with more children in the years to come.

[chessiegal]

I know someone with a large home. They originally bought it to have a MIL suite in the walk-out basement. The house has an elevator for the 3 stories. The husband is a Naval Academy grad. During football season with home Navy games, their house is loaded to the brim with company for the weekend. Some folks do entertain.

[ECM1231]

I think it's fine to have a somewhat larger home, whether for entertaining purposes, or to have space for guests to stay over, or even an in-law suite. I'm just questioning the need for a 6500 square foot home!  On the next block down there are 3 builder homes in a row, built by the same builder and they are approximately 4500 square feet. I toured the homes when they went on sale, and they are massive. I can't even wrap my head around 6500 square feet. So much for reducing one's carbon footprint. 🤷‍♀️

[stewedsquash]

Hey y’all! Set your recordings for Tues April 2, 10:01-10:31 because my guide is showing what is billed as s new episode of “House Hunters: Where Are They Now?”! Not sure how the streaming of it will work if that’s how you watch.

ExCiTeD!!

eta Also, don’t depend on it being picked up if you do series record. The full title is what I typed above and it might not catch it. 

Edited April 2 by stewedsquash

[kirklandia]

1 hour ago, stewedsquash said:

 

Hey y’all! Set your recordings for Tues April 2, 10:01-10:31 because my guide is showing what is billed as s new episode of “House Hunters: Where Are They Now?”!

 

Thanks for the heads up! It took me a few tries, but it looks like I have set my DVR to record the series.

[chessiegal]

Thank you @stewedsquash. I have my DVR set to record. I hope I can remember some of these folks. I'm not a faithful viewer.

[laredhead]

13 hours ago, stewedsquash said:

Hey y’all! Set your recordings for Tues April 2, 10:01-10:31 because my guide is showing what is billed as s new episode of “House Hunters: Where Are They Now?”! Not sure how the streaming of it will work if that’s how you watch.

I just checked my DVR and even though I have the HH Where Are They Now set to record whenever it appears, it did not pick up this showing.  When I looked at the time slot it does say House Hunters: Where Are They Now, but the title of the particular episode is "Are They Still Together" so the DVR may have thought that was the name.  I had to manually set the DVR to record this.  Can't wait to see which HH's they feature.

[chessiegal]

According to the episode description, there will be 3 couples featured, the first of which is the throuple. I know I will remember that threesome.

[rhofmovalley]

I don't know how those two friends ever thought buying a vacation home together was a good idea. Money has ruined more friendships than anything else, I would guess. 

At least they were able to salvage their friendship in the end. 

[chessiegal]

I really didn't need to know the sleeping arrangement of the throuple. TMI.

[Book Junkie]

On 4/1/2024 at 5:26 PM, ECM1231 said:

I think it's fine to have a somewhat larger home, whether for entertaining purposes, or to have space for guests to stay over, or even an in-law suite. I'm just questioning the need for a 6500 square foot home!  On the next block down there are 3 builder homes in a row, built by the same builder and they are approximately 4500 square feet. I toured the homes when they went on sale, and they are massive. I can't even wrap my head around 6500 square feet. So much for reducing one's carbon footprint. 🤷‍♀️

She wanted an enormous home too! Their previous home was 2300 square feet and with the birth of their 2nd child, things were "getting pretty cramped." Those were her words. She just didn't want quite as large of a home as him, but she wanted at least 4000 square feet. He was also talking about how he wanted his house to be the community house and all of their kids' friends come and hang out at their house, which sounded a little cringe. I couldn't also help but think that when their kids get to be teenagers, they're going to be sneaking out or sneaking people in all the time in that cavernous basement and mom and dad will never know.

[BAForever]

17 hours ago, rhofmovalley said:

I don't know how those two friends ever thought buying a vacation home together was a good idea. Money has ruined more friendships than anything else, I would guess. 

At least they were able to salvage their friendship in the end. 

Wouldn't at least some of the issues with the joint vacation house have shown up on an inspection? Tripling the renovation budget was crazy. 

[chessiegal]

1 minute ago, BAForever said:

Wouldn't at least some of the issues with the joint vacation house have shown up on an inspection? Tripling the renovation budget was crazy. 

I thought so too. I realize things behind the drywall won't show up, but I'd think the roof issue, at least, should have shown up on inspection. The way they portrayed it, that vacation house was a tear down and start over.

[Pine]

19 hours ago, rhofmovalley said:

I don't know how those two friends ever thought buying a vacation home together was a good idea. Money has ruined more friendships than anything else, I would guess. 

At least they were able to salvage their friendship in the end. 

Indeed.  I didn't quite figure out how the bought out couple didn't understand the whole situation.  Looked like that house was in disastrous shape, and why didn't an inspector see most of those problems?  The bought out couple were the most fortunate in this situation.  I am very happy they were able to salvage the friendship, 6 months isn't too bad for that situation, and now both will have a home on the island.  Very happy for all of them. 

[Shermie]

7 hours ago, Book Junkie said:

He was also talking about how he wanted his house to be the community house and all of their kids' friends come and hang out at their house, which sounded a little cringe.

Not sure why that’s “cringe”, but becoming the neighbourhood hangout house can’t be forced. It usually happens organically and it has little to do with the house (especially size), and more to do with the people in the house.

We raised 4 kids in a 2400 sq ft house (I know, how ever did we function?) and always had kids over. It just happened.

Random house design question: What’s the big deal with pot fillers? They don’t seem to be labour saving, really. Sure, you can fill the pot when it’s on the stove, but you still have to carry the even heavier pot (because it has water plus pasta or whatever in it) to the sink to drain. If you can’t lift a pot of water from sink to stove, how will you carry a pot of water and food from stove to sink?

[chessiegal]

Pot fillers save one trip from the sink to the range. I wouldn't pay to have one installed, but if the house already had one, I'd use it,

[stewedsquash]

The Where Are They Now episode was so meh. Gah, I am very disappointed.

[chessiegal]

9 hours ago, stewedsquash said:

The Where Are They Now episode was so meh. Gah, I am very disappointed.

I was thinking as it started that if folks thought they were going to be portrayed badly, they would not agree to be on the show. I thought the most interesting thing about this episode was how bad the vacation house turned out to be. It was a mess. How an inspection missed some of that stuff is a head scratcher.

I'll be watching the next installment.

[Notabug]

3 hours ago, chessiegal said:

I was thinking as it started that if folks thought they were going to be portrayed badly, they would not agree to be on the show. I thought the most interesting thing about this episode was how bad the vacation house turned out to be. It was a mess. How an inspection missed some of that stuff is a head scratcher.

I'll be watching the next installment.

Inspectors don't climb up on the roof nor do they open the walls.  Missing stuff like bad roofing or faulty plumbing is often the case, especially in older homes.  Unless an inspector is hired to look specifically for those things in depth, and paid accordingly, they will only do a cursory inspection of things that are out in the open and easy to see.  However, if the stuff that can be seen isn't in great shape, I'd presume the stuff that is not easily accessed is at least as bad.

That's why, when buying a 'fixer upper', you always need to assume that if the previous owners didn't keep up with stuff like painting and floors; it is a pretty good bet that they haven't been diligent about the roof or the electrical or the plumbing.  An inspector can get an idea by looking at the fuse box or circuit breaker as electricians will often date their work and looking at the exposed pipes in the basement or under the sink can give you a hint as to the condition of the rest of the pipes; but there is no sure thing.  As for the roof; unless it is obviously damaged with shingles missing, gutters hanging, eaves rotting; it may not be obvious, especially if the roof has been replaced over top of the previous one without inspecting the condition of the wood underneath.  Asking the buyer for proof of when the roof was last replaced, when the plumbing or electrical was last serviced or, better yet, requesting a home warranty is the way to go when buying an older house.

Although the two women claimed to be friends once again; it seemed to me like the one who got forced out was still not happy.  The one who worked from home was apparently supervising all the repairs and was aware of the bad roof and plumbing and the cost of repairs but the other woman seemingly didn't know any of it.  It also sounded like the friend handling the renovations made a unilateral decision with her husband that they would sell their prior home and use the proceeds to fix up the house while removing the other couple from the deed/mortgage without discussing it first.  I'm not sure how they could do that; but the friend sounded like she was blindsided and only found out that they were no longer owners and the others were going to live there full time after the fact.  Even if the second couple couldn't have afforded the extensive repairs, it seems rather rude not to tell them what was going on and have them agree to the plan before executing it.

I found the throuple annoying with the constant talk about which neighbors were ok with their arrangement and which were not.  I want to hear about the house.

Edited April 4 by Notabug

[chessiegal]

I said an inspector wouldn't know what's going on behind drywall. When we bought the house we are in now, our inspector got on a ladder and checked the roof.

[Johannah]

Haven't seen the episode, yet, but did they say they used an inspector?  Some people don't.  Might have been an "as is" and they decided to take a chance - or - in the recent seller's market, my realtor told me many buyers said they didn't want an inspection to get to the top of the list.  Desperate and foolish, I guess - unless you have a close contact with a contractor.

My inspector went on the roof, too.

Should there be another thread for this other series?  A thread within this Househunters thread/forum/whatever it's called?

[stewedsquash]

1 hour ago, Johannah said:

Should there be another thread for this other series?  A thread within this Househunters thread/forum/whatever it's called?

Please no and thank you.🥹

[Johannah]

2 hours ago, stewedsquash said:

Please no and thank you.🥹

Why?  If you don't like that show, you can avoid that thread and not have to read through/past those posts in this thread.  If you do like that show, it will help you focus on posts for that show.  Please explain your side.

[stewedsquash]

10 hours ago, Johannah said:

Why?  If you don't like that show, you can avoid that thread and not have to read through/past those posts in this thread.  If you do like that show, it will help you focus on posts for that show.  Please explain your side.

Ha, I plan on watching the show. It is a multiple slow moving thread issue. I don’t want extra threads. I think since it is an update of the episodes that it fits well into the main House Hunters thread. 
I have no control over whatever is decided but my hope is that it doesn’t get a separate thread. HH is kind of an organic discussion thread that moves back and forth as the mood strikes posters and it has a good flow. 

Edited April 5 by stewedsquash

[chessiegal]

If HH- Where Are They Now? was a weekly show, I'd agree it needs its own thread. Looking at HGTV's web site, it's something they do about once a year for a few episodes. I don't think that merits a separate thread. As I see it, it's a variation on HH. JMO.

[Johannah]

Thanks for the explanations.  Since it was listed as ep1, I thought it was going to be a regular series.  

[Book Junkie]

On 4/3/2024 at 7:50 PM, Shermie said:

Not sure why that’s “cringe”, but becoming the neighbourhood hangout house can’t be forced. It usually happens organically and it has little to do with the house (especially size), and more to do with the people in the house.

We raised 4 kids in a 2400 sq ft house (I know, how ever did we function?) and always had kids over. It just happened.

Random house design question: What’s the big deal with pot fillers? They don’t seem to be labour saving, really. Sure, you can fill the pot when it’s on the stove, but you still have to carry the even heavier pot (because it has water plus pasta or whatever in it) to the sink to drain. If you can’t lift a pot of water from sink to stove, how will you carry a pot of water and food from stove to sink?

It's cringe for the reason you stated; he's trying to force a social situation for his kids in the future. It's like he's trying to live out his ideal childhood or his dreams through his kids. It's like the house hunters who want a house with a grand staircase in the foyer because they want the prom picture ops that they always envisioned when their kids might not ever go to prom. Sometimes the house hunters don't even have kids and they're talking about these future situations! It came across to me like he was trying "buy" friends, mainly for himself, by having the "party house". 

Four kids in only 2400 square feet? How did you do it? LOL. They were ridiculous. 😆

 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I love the Chicago new episode with the woman with a $500,000 budget trying to find a home that her daughters will love to come back to visit in.   

$480,000.   Three bedrooms, and lacking storage. The first house that's 125 years-old, but totally redone is spectacular.  

The second home is in the neighborhood of Barack Obama, pre-presidency.   This house is 1890's and is virtually gutted, and still $499,000.   It needs a lot of work, and a much bigger deck.  Basement is nice, needs some finishes though.  Second floor is an odd layout.  At least it's 4 bedrooms. Primary bedroom is huge, third floor is needing a lot of work, and realtor suggests that would be the house hunter's future main suite.    Realtor says after reno is complete, that the house would be worth almost $2 million.   The homebuyer has such great taste in clothes, I bet that would carry over to remodeling this house.    It could be a super investment for her.   She would only have to fix the second floor bathroom, and finish the kitchen for now, and do the basement stair fix.  Then, do the third floor finishes while she lives in the existing main bathroom.  second floor needs a deck, but until then, secure that door to nowhere better. 

Third house 4 bed 3.5 bath new build.  It's super modern.  $475,000. I love the floors, coat closet (so few houses have this), but the location is an huge issue. 2 car detached garage, nice deck and yard.  Basement is great with a beverage/wine center.  Closets are huge, primary bedroom is gorgeous, and so are the rooms for the kids.    I don't like the flat roof.  

She buys #1, with the good location, and great neighborhood. 

I have to say that the women on this episode have such great taste in clothes. I love everything all three of them are wearing.   I really love the house hunter's lovely dress in the opening scene.   

 

[buttersister]

2 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

have to say that the women on this episode have such great taste in clothes. I love everything all three of them are wearing.   I really love the house hunter's lovely dress in the opening scene. 

She’s got great taste in clothes! The house reveal? Not as impressive, but they’ve been at her mother’s for such a long time, perhaps she hasn’t had a chance (2 jobs!) to style it yet.

[Pine]

It was way too flipper modern for me, but, the best choice for her.  

[BAForever]

HH- Where Are They Now? Half-watched. Only interested in the vapid cloffice woman and her archery spouse and the cat tube guy with the most amazing drawing of said cat tube. Neither disappointed- "Cloffice" now is a full time influencer and just as vapid, and cat tube guy has a awesome cat tube. Didn't notice before how cross-eyed cat tube guy was, but he seemed like a fun guy.

[CrazyInAlabama]

My question maybe wrong, but the cat tube went from house to detached garage, if I remember correctly.  So how do the cats keep from either overheating or freezing while going to the garage in the cat tube?  And is the garage heated and cooled?   It's been so long since I saw the original episode that I don't remember much of it. 

[chessiegal]

My thought on the cat tube is, you live in NJ, it can get cold. We have a screen porch on our house. I only let our cat out when it's warm enough. But they do have a fur coat and wouldn't be outside that long if they are going from one place to another. I don't think they showed where the cats end up when they get to the garage.

[Grizzly]

Saw the cloffice episode a week or so ago. That woman is like nails on a chalkboard. Sorry to hear he didn't get his archery space in the house.

[Crashcourse]

30 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

Sorry to hear he didn't get his archery space in the house.

That's probably a good thing, because he might...uhhh...miss? 

[Grizzly]

Royal Oak, Michigan. Wtf is arts and craft style? Do they mean Craftsman? And his best friend seems more like a mom substitute. I agree with her that #3 seems like the perfect size for him. Luckily, that was in a good location but wow, he had to pay a lot over asking.

[Orcinus orca]

Let's be clear here - Royal Oak does not have suburbs.  Royal Oak is a suburb of Detroit.  And he was lucky to get that place in Beverly Hill for such a low price.  Those are really tiny homes with big price tags due to the address.

[cameron]

6 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Royal Oak, Michigan. Wtf is arts and craft style? Do they mean Craftsman? And his best friend seems more like a mom substitute. I agree with her that #3 seems like the perfect size for him. Luckily, that was in a good location but wow, he had to pay a lot over asking.

Any guesses why he is still single at age 39?  Think he will always stay single unless he changes his ways.

[rhofmovalley]

10 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Royal Oak, Michigan. Wtf is arts and craft style? Do they mean Craftsman? And his best friend seems more like a mom substitute. I agree with her that #3 seems like the perfect size for him. Luckily, that was in a good location but wow, he had to pay a lot over asking.

https://www.architecture.org/learn/resources/architecture-dictionary/entry/arts-and-crafts/

[CrazyInAlabama]

The Where are They Now last night was asking if they really fixed up the fixer upper they bought. 

Including a fixer that was purchased for $725,000 or so, when their budget was $1 million if turnkey.    The wife ripped out virtually everything.   The after looked like a generic model home, right out of a decorating magazine.   I bet the finished house was way over the $175,000 they saved on the initial purchase.  

The second couple irritated me so much by constantly mentioning how quirky and unique they were I turned it off.  

Edited April 17 by CrazyInAlabama

[buttersister]

Quote

 

Craftsman came from the Arts and Crafts movement, and features distinct rooms vs. open plan.

 I knew someone who lived in a real Craftsman home in that area—filled with Stickly and Greene & Greene furniture (from estate sales, etc.). Beautiful if not soft and cushy (my preference;-)

[Pine]

I really liked the Royal Oak, Michigan episode.  She probably is a mom substitute, but good on them, they look like they have a lot of fun together.

Hope he finds his perfect match, but if not, he has a loyal and fun friend.

[snarts]

On 4/16/2024 at 11:03 PM, Orcinus orca said:

Let's be clear here - Royal Oak does not have suburbs.  Royal Oak is a suburb of Detroit. 

Coming here to say exactly that. They're all Detroit suburbs and throwing the Southgate home in made zero sense. Completely different area, Royal Oak/Beverly Hills are northwest of Detroit while Southgate is downriver (South). The areas are 30-40 minutes away from each other on a good traffic day.  

My only thought was they needed a decoy house and it was the only one her agency had in his price range. 

Dude was a little weird, which may account for his being single. Guessing automotive engineer. Had he been wearing his phone/work badge clipped to his belt, I'd be certain.

[chessiegal]

30 minutes ago, snarts said:

My only thought was they needed a decoy house and it was the only one her agency had in his price range. 

The thing with the decoy houses is they don't even need to be for sale. It may be the Southgate house was one they had permission to use for filming.

[LexieLily]

I knew it immediately that Callie from Idaho would choose House #3 despite all of the things she said she disliked about it because it was two minutes away from her parents. She came across as the type that was going to constantly pawn her daughter off on her parents. 

How big of a truck did she have that she went on and on about a three-car garage even though she would be the only person living there that had a vehicle?

(Did the ex-husband have it in legal writing that she couldn't mention their daughter's name on television or something? It came across so stilted and awkward how she would constantly reference "my daughter" and even stranger still when her sister would say "your daughter" considering you'd think you would just naturally say "my niece" if not kiddo's actual name?) 

[chessiegal]

5 hours ago, LexieLily said:

How big of a truck did she have that she went on and on about a three-car garage even though she would be the only person living there that had a vehicle?

They showed a picture of it. It was a white pick-up truck that had a back seat with doors. They are too long to fit in a regular parking space. So, you need extra space to fit in a garage. When I see them parked at the grocery store, they take up over one space. I don't know what they do in parking garages. 

[laredhead]

The Idaho buying sister should listen to her mortgage broker sister more often when it comes to spending money.  The mortgage sister (cannot remember her name) had some good advice about buying a house when it came to the amount a person qualifies to buy, and what they can actually afford, as well as things that can be upgraded later after the buyer has lived in the house for a while.  The realtor friend also chimed in a couple of times about what could be delayed in changing. 

I wasn't too impressed with the size of the houses and the high prices, and Boise has become very expensive evidently.  

[cameron]

32 minutes ago, laredhead said:

The Idaho buying sister should listen to her mortgage broker sister more often when it comes to spending money.  The mortgage sister (cannot remember her name) had some good advice about buying a house when it came to the amount a person qualifies to buy, and what they can actually afford, as well as things that can be upgraded later after the buyer has lived in the house for a while.  The realtor friend also chimed in a couple of times about what could be delayed in changing. 

I wasn't too impressed with the size of the houses and the high prices, and Boise has become very expensive evidently.  

Wasn't impressed with the buyer either.

 

[chessiegal]

41 minutes ago, laredhead said:

I wasn't too impressed with the size of the houses and the high prices, and Boise has become very expensive evidently.  

From what I've read Boise became a boom town during the pandemic, and has low inventory, thus the home higher prices.