House Hunters - General Discussion

[debbie311]

The Chicago couple.  She was one of the most unlikeable house hunters.  I wondered if that marriage was going to last. So they had exhausted one realtor and were on their second.

I know these episodes are largely "scripted" but I always can't help wondering WHY these couples have not discussed at length before looking at house what they want, what their deal breakers are, etc. And how they treat each other with almost indifference and anger. I guess I was lucky, when my husband and I were buying our first house together over 20 years ago, we were able to compromise pretty easily.  Of course, we just wanted something we could afford!

And this whole thing about "forever" houses.  Really? Especially in my 20's or 30's, I never expected to live in the same house forever. And I never wanted to live in a house just like the one I grew up in! And close to mommy and daddy!

[rhofmovalley]

3 hours ago, debbie311 said:

WHY these couples have not discussed at length before looking at house what they want, what their deal breakers are, etc.

They have. It's all producer driven. Someone posted on here years ago about the filming process. They were told what their "storyline" would be. The producer pointed to the wife and said "You want to live in the city, and your husband wants to live in the suburbs" even though that wasn't even a discussion when they'd bought the home. 

I can't focus on the pretend drama/conflict. I just try to focus on the houses themselves and the locations. 

[Empress1]

On 5/3/2024 at 7:40 AM, chessiegal said:

I was checking to see what episodes I had recorded and started to watch one with the psychic real estate agent.

I didn’t make it past the intro. I was like “oh, absolutely not.”

On 5/3/2024 at 6:25 PM, snarts said:

 As soon as I see it's an hour, I delete it

I do the same. The only hour-long House Hunters eps I liked are the renovation ones, and they seem to have canceled that show.

[snarts]

Indianapolis, IN and Kansas City, MO:  it was nice to see two recent episodes of relatively normal HHers with reasonable budgets and expectations. The Indy couple's budget was $250k. The KC couple's budget was $450k. Aside from the KC wife's constant commentary about her aerial acrobatics and wanting to put a "rig" to support it in every house, they weren't too demanding or annoying. 

In both episodes, they chose my least favorite option. But, in their defense, they were the largest houses and both couples seemingly wanted to tackle some updating/remodeling (which always makes me cringe).

Edited May 10 by snarts

[javajeanelaine]

I loved the 3rd house in KC.

 

[Johannah]

Psychic real estate agent:  which house are the spirits telling me you should buy?  The most expensive one, with the highest commission for me!

My spirits deserve a raise.

I can't remember if it was that episode, but I just love the couples whose absolute drop-dead highest dollar is $500,000, then they buy the $550,000 house.  And it was absolutely the perfect house for them!  For a year before foreclosure.

 

[CrazyInAlabama]

On 5/10/2024 at 8:17 AM, Empress1 said:

 

I do the same. The only hour-long House Hunters eps I liked are the renovation ones, and they seem to have canceled that show.

I enjoyed all of the HH Reno shows, except the last few that were virtually the same design, and turned lovely, classic homes into soulless boxes of trendy. 

[snarts]

Morgantown, WV: first HH episode I recall seeing in West Virginia. Newly married couple expecting their first child. Modest $250-300K budget. Options were two raised ranches and a bungalow. One was outside the city limits, qualifying for a USDA loan which would mean zero down payment. 

They chose the first option, a raised ranch/split level in Morgantown, close to the University football stadium and 10 minutes from her office. The final reveaql showed that they'd painted the kitchen cabinets and planned to address the patio/stairs in the sloped yard.

[chessiegal]

I remember seeing WV episodes, but it's been a while. I found the wife to be annoying.

[Crashcourse]

Since I prefer hills and mountains over beaches, it was nice to see a West Virginia episode for a change.  Also nice to see a couple with a modest budget.

[Empress1]

Watching a couple in St. Peters, MO (no idea where that is) with nearly identical voices. One of them who wore glasses was kind of annoying with his very strict closet organization (he kept looking at huge walk-ins and declaring them too small and he kept saying he wanted something “grand”) and couch rotation system. They and their FOUR DOGS had moved in with Glasses’ best friend to save money. That’s a good friend!

I really liked the second house they looked at, though it didn’t have a yard for their dogs. It was also much bigger inside than it looked. They ended up with a new build, which was the house I liked the least.

[Dirge]

That MO episode was a total throwback, with one empty house that they chose and two full houses that they didn't. I liked the second house with the good location. 

[Dirge]

I thought the WV couple chose the perfect house for them, for now. Their lifestyle is to walk to that stadium. And if they decide they need more room, or she stops working at the college, a house within walking distance of a university is going to be so easy to rent. 

 

Edited May 21 by Dirge

[Dirge]

Okay I am all alone in this forum! 

I saw a show with a realtor (not capitalizing it, don't @ me!) who was a ventriloquist with a dummy - shudder. No more need be said. 

Then there was a Baton Rouge episode; one husband wanted to go cheap so they could keep their duplex in Los Angeles, and the other hoped to spend more money and be close to his sister. I knew they wouldn't go for the one expensive house that they saw. They picked the fixer-upper very close to his sister, with the biggest, fenced-in yard. It was also the cheapest, and they paid under asking - almost unbelievable these days! 

Usually I don't have a lot of patience with the partner who wants to go cheap, but in this case I think they were right to go cheap enough that they could keep their Los Angeles home, which had appreciated $700k in 7 years, I think it was. There's no way they were going to match that return with any other investment. I'm in CA and I have friends who moved away for various reasons, and none of them can afford to move back. 

[Soapy Goddess]

You're not alone here, Dirge. I normally don't comment much, but I must say that ventriloquist episode was all kinds of weird. And laughable...and NOT in a good way.

[BAForever]

6 hours ago, Dirge said:

Okay I am all alone in this forum! 

I saw a show with a realtor (not capitalizing it, don't @ me!) who was a ventriloquist with a dummy - shudder. 

How did I miss the dummy episode @Dirge? Sounds awfully amazing. Agree about the Louisiana couple- keep the LA house,  you can go back someday. Hopefully they are renting and making a nice profit. The house they bought was small, but meets their needs. They were a nice couple. Something I never understand though is proximity in these shows. No difference to me if something is a 5 minute drive or a 20 minute drive.

Edited May 23 by BAForever

[laredhead]

7 hours ago, Dirge said:

Then there was a Baton Rouge episode; one husband wanted to go cheap so they could keep their duplex in Los Angeles, and the other hoped to spend more money and be close to his sister. I knew they wouldn't go for the one expensive house that they saw. They picked the fixer-upper very close to his sister, with the biggest, fenced-in yard. It was also the cheapest, and they paid under asking - almost unbelievable these days! 

Regarding the Baton Rouge show.  I live in Baton Rouge, and none of those houses were really in Baton Rouge according to a real estate source I know who works with the realtor.  They were in adjoining parishes (counties), and according to an article in our local paper before the show aired, the HH's were also shown houses that flooded in 2016 when we had hundreds of houses underwater in many areas so that's why the prices were cheap on a few.  Personally, I would not have bought any of those houses.

The guys were nice, and they both got what they wanted - a project house, and close proximity to the sister.  BTW, traffic problems here are so bad, that it can take 30 minutes to drive 3 or 4 miles in certain areas.

[Bastet]

15 hours ago, Dirge said:

Usually I don't have a lot of patience with the partner who wants to go cheap, but in this case I think they were right to go cheap enough that they could keep their Los Angeles home, which had appreciated $700k in 7 years, I think it was. There's no way they were going to match that return with any other investment. I'm in CA and I have friends who moved away for various reasons, and none of them can afford to move back. 

Absolutely.  A friend moved to a cheaper part of CA for a job, but kept her house in L.A. as a rental, because she wants to come back here when she retires.  If she'd sold it then and wanted to move back here now, she couldn't afford to buy her old house.

[Soapy Goddess]

House Hunter realtor pet peeve: Not all single basin undermount sinks are farm sinks!  If you're going to update terminology pertaining to room descriptions (i.e. master to primary), then buy a clue and get your kitchen decor correct too. 

[laredhead]

4 hours ago, Soapy Goddess said:

Not all single basin undermount sinks are farm sinks!  If you're going to update terminology pertaining to room descriptions (i.e. master to primary), then buy a clue and get your kitchen decor correct too. 

Thank you so much for that comment!  Drives me crazy when a realtor, or a HH, uses that term for a drop in, under mount sink. I heard it twice during recent shows, and the sinks were not farmhouse sinks.      

[snarts]

Connecticut: Interesting dude looking for a lakehouse somewhere in Connecticut. He's a contractor and musician (?) who likes to mentor boys after being involved in some type of summer camp (edible was kicking in so I may have messed up this backstory on the mentoring). The boys are 24, 14, and 8. He refers to them throughout the episode like they're his own. Trying not to be concerned, kept telling myself there are good people and he wouldn't voluntarily go on TV if he were a creeper.

Anyhoo, his budget was $800k and he didn't want a cookie cutter lakehouse but also wasn't interested in a fixer. He picked the weird blue one for $580k that appeared to be on a pond vs. a lake and was actually two A frames houses that were somehow combined. The house was odd & quirky like him. 

[rhofmovalley]

I got the impression the realtor in the Connecticut episode was interested in dating the house hunter.

And yes, sadly we've been conditioned to look askance at "middle aged man wants a big house with lots of bedrooms to house his 'mentees' who are all young men". Because it happens way too often that the older man is a sicko. 

[Baltimore Betty]

I have a lot of episodes to catch up on but I just watched one with a couple that were looking in Florida, she wanted four bedrooms because she needed a room to produce content, following that first mention of content it was pretty much the only word I heard after that...what sort of content does she create, she never mentioned.  I was also wondering if I heard correctly that the husband is a stylist for church pastors or something like that but had a budget of $400,000.

 

[Empress1]

I work in marketing and communications (hopefully not much longer, I want a change) and I am so fucking sick of the word “content,” I cannot tell you.

older couple (grown kids) looking for a house outside of Atlanta. I’m not sure why, frankly. Budget was $1.2M, they bought a $1.425M house an hour outside the city. Wife was French and wanted something European. All the houses they looked at were huge; the wife kept talking about not spending time cleaning & having more time for each other, and I assume they paid people to clean because the houses they looked at would take a weekend to clean.

[buttersister]

Chicago couple with two kids moving back from the suburbs to the city. LOL, guess that ruled out the Oak Park place. No doubt they were choosing #3, the two flat close to where they used to live (pre-kids). Hope they follow up with them to see if first floor became the office or a rental unit. 😂 

Somebody tell Mr. Money that if it’s exclusively his office, it’s tax deductible.

eta: Otoh, they got the kitchen with the ant-friendly countertop and I never need to hear about that again. WTF and what are the odds he was looking for something negative to say about their place?

Edited June 2 by buttersister

[chessiegal]

Being able to see ants on a countertop is a new one. If you're concerned about ants, speaking from experience, you'll see them other places than countertops.

[CrazyInAlabama]

You'll see ants because they move, and cluster, and you'll notice them.   Can't see ants on the counter tops is certainly an interesting reason not to get a certain house.    

Edited June 2 by CrazyInAlabama

[laredhead]

I liked the realtor for the Chicago couple.  Even she said the ant issue was a new one for her.  My issue with that type of counter top pattern is not being able to see crumbs, or small things that get hidden in the pattern.  Even wiping the counters daily (if not more often) doesn't guarantee that you will see everything.  I prefer a solid white or cream color counter because of that.

 

[Crashcourse]

I have a patterned countertop and I get a visit from ants about every four years.  (Do they wait to get an invite? lol.)  Anyway, I can see them, but I can understand that someone with poor eyesight might not.

[surfgirl]

On 5/24/2024 at 7:40 AM, rhofmovalley said:

I got the impression the realtor in the Connecticut episode was interested in dating the house hunter.

And yes, sadly we've been conditioned to look askance at "middle aged man wants a big house with lots of bedrooms to house his 'mentees' who are all young men". Because it happens way too often that the older man is a sicko. 

So he was looking for a Boyscout Camp property then?!?

[CrazyInAlabama]

I like the Florida pastors, they compromise, aren't being mean to each other.  Their realtor is doing a great job too.   They're shopping in Melbourne, FL.

But I loved the first house pool, and RV garage for podcasts

(hint: I saw Mike Holmes do a spray cork layer on a garage interior, for insulation and noise dampening, and that might work for the husband's podcast area). However, the guest bedrooms are small, and the main bathroom is shared with the pool, and has very little counterspace near the bathroom sinks.   I think they should get a longer vanity in the main bath.  The pool access to the bathroom is only going to be an issue when they have big parties. 

Saying what the HOA fee covers is necessary, but somethimes they gloss over that on this show.   I love the second house kitchen and tile, it's a new build, but no pool.  I agree with the wife about the builder grade carpet in the bedrooms. 

third home, 2 story.     I don't like this house from the front entry on.  Kitchen is small.  the wife is obsessing over the fact that a new build may not come with a fridge, that's $2,000 to $3,000, and a minor expense compared to taking down a wall in the third home.  With all of the major projects, this house is no bargain.  This one has a private pool. 

They went with #2.   

Edited June 9 by CrazyInAlabama

[Johannah]

On 6/2/2024 at 12:59 PM, Crashcourse said:

I have a patterned countertop and I get a visit from ants about every four years.  (Do they wait to get an invite? lol.)  Anyway, I can see them, but I can understand that someone with poor eyesight might not.

I think even someone with poor eyesight might notice the crumbs moving.  😁

I'm about 5 eps behind, so I can't really comment about stuff.

[Dirge]

Florida couple, I loved the first house but figured they'd bought the second since it was empty and had plants, still in their pots, around the entrance. They had some good choices and seemed like a nice couple. I hope they checked into whether they could have a pool - it didn't look like any of the other lakefront properties did. 

[Pine]

DIRGE, I have to say, I love your name!  Many years ago a friend nicknamed my Mother Dorthy, Dirge, and we called her Dirge for decades, she even had a personalized lic plate for her blue vintage TBird.   I have to admit we had no idea at the beginning of the nickname what it meant, and it was mainly just a rhyming thing.  So, thank you for bringing a smile to me everytime I see you posting.

 

[CrazyInAlabama]

New episode, Nail Salons and Relatives in South Carolina.  A lovely young woman with her own nail salon, who will buy a home for her family of eight to live in. (House hunter/buyer, parents. brother, sister and brother-in-law, two nieces. Near Greenville. 

From the show site: A young Chinese immigrant looks to buy a home big enough for her family of eight and her nail salon business in South Carolina. She's searching for a new build that has good feng shui, but finding a place that has everything she wants may be a challenge.

The  first home $479,900,  is the biggest, a new build, 5 bed 4/5 bath,  and nice, but I never heard of a HOA that allows you to run a nail salon out of your home, and the realtor claims you can.  $700 HOA per year.  Didn't catch the price. 

Second house- one year old, and big, with amenities and $876 HOA per year.   Another house realtor claims you can put a salon in and run it from your home. 4 bed 2.5 bath. $610,000. 

Third house-$398,000 no HOA, Cheapest house,  17 miles from town. 4 bed 2.5 bath.  fully renovated.   2900 sq ft, lovely huge kitchen, living room, huge pantry, first floor bedroom, with 2 walk-in closets with bath. upstairs are 3 bedrooms with another full bath. Could be five bedroom with a closet added.  Space on the back near the laundry room with a bonus room, that could be the nail salon with a half bath. 

She bought #1.   I'm wondering if it's really legal to have a home salon? 

(I've live in or near a slew of HOA communities, and home business involving road traffic is a big no-no.   I was shocked at the realtor saying the first two HOAs were fine with home businesses like a salon that's going to have a lot of traffic, and the exhaust fans spread horrible odors through the area.    I'm wondering if they weren't HOA communities at all?  )

Edited June 10 by CrazyInAlabama

[chessiegal]

5 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I'm wondering if it's really legal to have a home salon? 

If it isn't legal, she'd have to be very stupid to go on national tv and advertise it. I'm guessing you can permit where she was looking.

[CrazyInAlabama]

6 hours ago, chessiegal said:

If it isn't legal, she'd have to be very stupid to go on national tv and advertise it. I'm guessing you can permit where she was looking.

Or they weren't HOAs  at all in the conventional sense.   Maybe they were just for amenities, and didn't have other rules?   Or just to pay for some utilities, and some lawn mowing in entrances?    My HOA pays a ton for the street light electricity, and lawn mowing costs are huge.  Plus HOAs pay property tax and insurance for the common areas.   I don't recall any amenities being mentioned, so I bet it wasn't a regular HOA. 

Edited June 10 by CrazyInAlabama

[Dirge]

On 6/9/2024 at 12:58 PM, Pine said:

DIRGE, I have to say, I love your name!

@Pine that's so sweet! Thank you! 

Broken Arrow: Father with three daughters and second wife who wanted to move so they'd have "our home." I was with her all the way until she said at the end that maybe she and the father would "start our own family." Suddenly "our" has a new meaning. Way to make your three stepdaughters feel great, Wife #2. I figured they'd pick the house with the community pool right across the street 

South Carolina: What a wonderful woman, working 6 days a week to provide for her family. I knew that #1 was the best with its bedrooms and bathrooms perfectly situated - one downstairs for her parents, one kind of "suite" of two bedrooms and a bath for her brother and sister-in-law and two nieces, one each for her and her brother. And way under the price she was willing to pay. 

 

Edited June 11 by Dirge

[snarts]

 

South Carolina: What a wonderful woman, working 6 days a week to provide for her family. 

I had to wonder why she was supporting all of them. Are all of them unable to work? How does one afford a $500k house doing nails out of your home? 

[Notabug]

 

I had to wonder why she was supporting all of them. Are all of them unable to work? How does one afford a $500k house doing nails out of your home? 

I figure most of them probably work, too.  They just aren't in jobs that pay as well/don't have the opportunity for overtime that she has.  If she is very skilled and runs a tight ship with scheduling, she could make most of her income in tips, especially in an affluent area.

[snarts]

5 hours ago, Notabug said:

If she is very skilled and runs a tight ship with scheduling, she could make most of her income in tips, especially in an affluent area.

Even working 365 days a year at $500 a day in tips wouldn't net her $200k/year.

Nail salons can be quite lucrative if you own one. That's because you keep a share of all your technicians' earnings. But, she was working alone out of her house so the math ain't mathing for me.

Anyone else's DVR pick up a Cabarete, Dominican Republic episode that aired last night as a HH vs HHI?

[ECM1231]

8 minutes ago, snarts said:

Anyone else's DVR pick up a Cabarete, Dominican Republic episode that aired last night as a HH vs HHI?

Yep.

[chessiegal]

13 minutes ago, snarts said:

Anyone else's DVR pick up a Cabarete, Dominican Republic episode that aired last night as a HH vs HHI?

Yes. I was wondering when the DR became part of the US. 😄

[Notabug]

4 hours ago, snarts said:

Even working 365 days a year at $500 a day in tips wouldn't net her $200k/year.

Nail salons can be quite lucrative if you own one. That's because you keep a share of all your technicians' earnings. But, she was working alone out of her house so the math ain't mathing for me.

Anyone else's DVR pick up a Cabarete, Dominican Republic episode that aired last night as a HH vs HHI?

True, but presuming the rest of the family is contributing to the mortgage, even at a lesser rate, she should be able to swing it.  Even with her buying the home in her name, I would expect they'll pay something in rent to her.

Also, she mentioned owning her own salon in town.  She didn't sound like she was selling that.  if she keeps that place, she will have nail techs working for her in addition to whatever she makes working out of the house.

[CrazyInAlabama]

20 hours ago, Notabug said:

I figure most of them probably work, too.  They just aren't in jobs that pay as well/don't have the opportunity for overtime that she has.  If she is very skilled and runs a tight ship with scheduling, she could make most of her income in tips, especially in an affluent area.

I wondered if she wasn't actually going to do nails at her home salon, if that was just a storyline for the show.   I'm betting the "salon" will just be another bedroom for a relative.  

 

Also, I've never run across a HOA that allowed high traffic home businesses in a residential neighborhood either.   

Edited June 12 by CrazyInAlabama

[chessiegal]

26 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Also, I've never run across a HOA that allowed high traffic home businesses in a residential neighborhood either.   

I thought about that too. But how many clients can she accommodate at one time - 2? She's already got a ton of folks living at the house, most of whom likely have cars. I hope she's a thoughtful neighbor.

[laredhead]

Back to back episodes last night, and maybe they were reruns with different titles that fooled my DVR into recording them.  The first one involved a couple who the husband dubbed 'the Bickersons', and OMG they were awful.  They were living with her parents, and I figure her parents threw a party when the couple finally found a house and moved out.  The mother tried to referee a couple of times.  I barely remember the house they finally bought.  This is one couple that definitely needs to be shows on a future HHWATN episode to see if divorce court was in their future.

Another episode that my DVR recorded involved a man searching for a house in Clovis, NM, and his budget was below $200,000.  None of the houses he looked at were attractive, IMO.  He did have a good rapport with his realtor, and was concerned that the house be suitable for his elderly mother who would be visiting for long periods of time.  He finally settled on a bungalow style house, and although he kept talking about wanting a house where he could showcase his collection of things he had acquired from his world travels during his job with the Air Force, the reveal didn't show anything like that.  He talked about having an off site storage unit for his off season clothes, and he also owned another house in Florida.  It was sort of an odd story.

[Crashcourse]

I didn't like the "Bickersons" at all, and the wife looked like she could beat the husband's ass.

I didn't like any of the Clovis, NM houses.  The guy was...interesting and I thought I saw a wedding band on his finger.  He said he had a house in FL, but I wonder if he was renting it out.  He did have an odd story.

[laredhead]

53 minutes ago, Crashcourse said:

I didn't like the "Bickersons" at all, and the wife looked like she could beat the husband's ass.

I thought the same thing, and also thought that might be why he kept emphasizing a place for him to work out.  Even her own mother tried to shut her down a couple of times.  I certainly would not have been proud of being the subject of that episode.

[rhofmovalley]

I enjoyed the portrayal of the man's relationship with his mother. I hope my son wants me around when I'm no longer able to live alone.