House Hunters - General Discussion

[buttersister]

Deleted en masse, including several local eps I was saving. Then deleted record all command. F off, HGTV. It’s holiday time so it’s rerunpalooza of everything, including stuff I passed on the first time. Looking at you (location) Life.

I’ll keep an eye out for new seasons of a few shows, but two whack jobs whining in South Dakota? Or vocal fry debating countertops in Florida? I’m out.

Edited December 1, 2024 by buttersister
Changed ill to I’ll, but enjoyed the Freudian AI typo.

[Dirge]

Bentonville AR. Didn't particularly care which house they picked. I was too busy telling the realtor that "the word is not EXpecially." 

[kirklandia]

I watched the episode featuring the extended family moving from Kirkland WA to Libertyville IL with great interest.
I made the opposite move - grew up in Libertyville and moved to Kirkland - way back In 1977.  
It was fun to get a look at my old hometown.  I'm not planning to move back, but it is certainly interesting to compare housing costs.
They bought the house in June.   At that time, the median sale price for a single-family home in Libertyville was $680K.  In Kirkland - $1.6 million. 

[cameron]

5 hours ago, kirklandia said:

I watched the episode featuring the extended family moving from Kirkland WA to Libertyville IL with great interest.
I made the opposite move - grew up in Libertyville and moved to Kirkland - way back In 1977.  
It was fun to get a look at my old hometown.  I'm not planning to move back, but it is certainly interesting to compare housing costs.
They bought the house in June.   At that time, the median sale price for a single-family home in Libertyville was $680K.  In Kirkland - $1.6 million. 

Thought they were an interesting duo.

 

[chessiegal]

According to the Best Bets tv guide in my paper, there will be a new HH tonight at 10 pm ET featuring sisters looking for a home in Maryland large enough to accommodate the pair and their numerous pets. 

[laredhead]

Washington to Libertyville, Illinois - I got so tired of listening to the husband talk about how he wanted to be able to walk to get coffee.  The man must have a coffee habit.  Also, if you concerned about budget, coffee shop coffee isn't cheap.  The wife was the practical one regarding $$, pointing out that college tuition would be looming in the coming years.

The house they chose was the most practical for them, and I hope her parents can continue to climb the stairs from their basement apartment for many years to come.

[snarts]

HGTV's been promoting this new episode every day in the new year thing.  Took a chance & recorded last night but it's just repackaged vacation/beach/lake hunters again (Panama City & somewhere on the Louisiana coast).

[laredhead]

The HH episode last night about the couple buying a "full time" house in Cameron Parish Louisiana was a repackaged vacation/beach house episode.  There is no way those people are living full time in that area with a child in high school.  I live in Louisiana, and Cameron Parish has been hit hard by several hurricanes over the past few years.  There is a reason that some scenes showed large areas of vacant land.  It's because the houses that used to be there were destroyed by storm surge and wind.  Insurance costs have risen dramatically, so they are paying a pretty penny for that, if they have it.  You are usually required to carry insurance if you have a mortgage.  Oh, and the little scene that referenced the dirt and sand that had washed into the driveway of one of the houses they viewed, and the realtor brushed it off as a usual event after a storm, made me laugh.  If that's the result of a summer thunder storm, they need to think many times about what it will look like with a Cat 2 or 3 or higher hits that area.  I heard the daughter say it doesn't look like Austin, and I bet they live in Austin and have a nice, big house there on a permanent basis.  One more little annoying thing, the husband kept talking about his ocean view - it's the Gulf of Mexico, not an ocean, so it's a Gulf view.  I know of no one who lives here who declares it an ocean view.  If you did, people would think you were talking about the Atlantic or Pacific.        

[CrazyInAlabama]

All of last night's episodes were repackaged or rerun HH or beachfront, or HHI episodes.   

One was the Vanuatu episode where the woman wanted to live off the grid, but then was worried about where she was going to poop.   Interesting to read about living there, it's very remote.  It's over 1,000 miles from Australia.  Limited healthcare, and very high cost of living. 

Edited January 4 by CrazyInAlabama

[kirklandia]

I sure hope HGTV finishes their epic program recycling project soon.

I'm getting tired of trying to figure out what is new content - without actually starting to watch it. I tried doing a little research by looking up season and episode numbers, and I just gave up.

(I do have to confess I saved all 50 of the individual state episodes that were shown in a marathon after Thanksgiving. There have been surprisingly few that I remembered. I should work my way through the rest of them over the next week…)

[cameron]

The Manchester NH couple on last night's show were a piece of work.

[Baltimore Betty]

1 hour ago, cameron said:

The Manchester NH couple on last night's show were a piece of work.

I was in Manchester in November, it was a charming town, (we went to tour two Frank lloyd Wright houses), I was amazed that there is a Southern New Hampshire University Arena, I thought it was a diploma mill!

[Johannah]

On 1/5/2025 at 6:52 AM, cameron said:

The Manchester NH couple on last night's show were a piece of work.

Why?  I didn't notice anything.  But then again, I pay more attention to the houses than the people.

Speaking of which, the fake barn doors on either side of the TV were an interesting design choice.  Didn't really hate it, but found it interesting, especially since it made me think of shutters as indoors design choices.

And, yes, I think that one sink was the world's smallest.  I'm not crazy about pedestal sinks to begin with.  I like storage.

[laredhead]

The Texas to the Smoky Mountains episode was new to me, and to my DVR evidently.  I was so distracted by the beard on the husband, that I had a hard time focusing on the houses they toured.  His beard qualified for its own zip code.

[BAForever]

18 minutes ago, laredhead said:

The Texas to the Smoky Mountains episode was new to me, and to my DVR evidently.  I was so distracted by the beard on the husband, that I had a hard time focusing on the houses they toured.  His beard qualified for its own zip code.

That beard was nasty. Their boys were 16 and 10 or 11. No way the older one is going to want to share a room, probably the younger one too. I shared a room till I was 12 because I have 7 siblings, these people had a big budget, each child deserves their own space. 

[cameron]

Greer, South Carolina female house hunter needed to have a big splashy kitchen even though she said she doesn't cook.  Maybe for affect.

[CalicoKitty]

On 1/14/2025 at 11:34 AM, cameron said:

Greer, South Carolina female house hunter needed to have a big splashy kitchen even though she said she doesn't cook.  Maybe for affect.

I have a friend that has an absolutely gorgeous kitchen.  A magazine wanted to show it, until they found out that she has never used it, and, in fact, she does not cook at all.  She and her husband eat out every meal.  She uses her oven for storage.  But she still spent thousands on a kitchen remodel.

[chessiegal]

11 hours ago, CalicoKitty said:

 She uses her oven for storage.  But she still spent thousands on a kitchen remodel.

Just curious. Storage for what? If they don't cook, you don't need pots and pans and so on. A properly designed kitchen should have plenty of storage.
 

[CalicoKitty]

57 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

Just curious. Storage for what? If they don't cook, you don't need pots and pans and so on. A properly designed kitchen should have plenty of storage.
 

Linens, I think.  Maybe books.

[chediavolo]

15 hours ago, CalicoKitty said:

I have a friend that has an absolutely gorgeous kitchen.  A magazine wanted to show it, until they found out that she has never used it, and, in fact, she does not cook at all.  She and her husband eat out every meal.  She uses her oven for storage.  But she still spent thousands on a kitchen remodel.

I often wondered about all these people who say they don’t cook and they eat out at every meal.. like when are they going to hear that they have stenosis or diabetes or heart disease or cancer? How can anyone live like that?  Jesus I watch what I eat and I’ve got issues. 

[Crashcourse]

I would get tired of eating out all the time, and you don't always know what you're putting in your stomach no matter how much it costs.

[surfgirl]

So I finally saw the infamous 'Pickleball' dude. So lemme get this straight: He decided that living in Waco was better than The Land of 1.000 Lakes? I have no words. 

[Johannah]

On 1/17/2025 at 2:21 PM, chediavolo said:

I often wondered about all these people who say they don’t cook and they eat out at every meal.. like when are they going to hear that they have stenosis or diabetes or heart disease or cancer? How can anyone live like that?  Jesus I watch what I eat and I’ve got issues. 

Depends on what you order when you are out and cook when you are home.  

When I'm out, I can occasionally get a balanced meal and get salads.  I don't like to cook, so at home, it's pizza and sandwiches.  Maybe cheese and crackers.  Having nachos tonight.  Sometimes just donuts...

[chessiegal]

Taking cooking/not cooking at home to Small Talk.

[qtpye]

On 1/16/2025 at 10:55 PM, CalicoKitty said:

I have a friend that has an absolutely gorgeous kitchen.  A magazine wanted to show it, until they found out that she has never used it, and, in fact, she does not cook at all.  She and her husband eat out every meal.  She uses her oven for storage.  But she still spent thousands on a kitchen remodel.

In one of those horrible Real Housewives shows (please don't judge me) one of the housewives had a "show kitchen" and a real kitchen.

The show kitchen looked like it came out of a glossy magazine. The real kitchen is the one the cooks and caterers actually used.  It was out of sight so no one could see the mess that often comes along with food preparation.

[Notabug]

On 1/18/2025 at 11:18 PM, qtpye said:

In one of those horrible Real Housewives shows (please don't judge me) one of the housewives had a "show kitchen" and a real kitchen.

The show kitchen looked like it came out of a glossy magazine. The real kitchen is the one the cooks and caterers actually used.  It was out of sight so no one could see the mess that often comes along with food preparation.

I have a friend who owns a multimillion dollar home in a fancy suburb.  She has two kitchens, too.  The deluxe kitchen is part of the open concept living area on the first floor and there is a catering kitchen downstairs.  The catering kitchen is larger with restaurant sized appliances.  Two ovens, two dishwashers, etc.  She says it is fairly common in that area.  She uses the showplace to make coffee and simple stuff, but, she is an excellent cook.  When she is tackling a bigger cooking job, especially for guests, she uses the catering kitchen.

[buttersister]

And sheep’s the food to another floor? Or maybe she uses the elevator?

[CrazyInAlabama]

I'm really enjoying the Pittsburgh house hunters, the nurse and the resident, looking for their first place together.    They're quirky, and fun, not obnoxious like some others have been.  The Pittsburgh Potties are so true to the era of the houses. 

I didn't like any of the houses though. 

Edited February 6 by CrazyInAlabama

[Crashcourse]

I liked the Pittsburgh couple, but I wasn't impressed with any of the houses.

[laredhead]

I'm catching up on a many HH episodes that I have not watched recently.  Finding some are repackaged beach house/vacation home episodes, so I just delete them.  Within the last week (I think) was an episode about a couple moving from southern California to the Seattle area, and they professed sticker shock at the price of houses in Seattle.  Have they not read a news article in several years? Their budget was around a million, which is a figure I cannot even imagine paying for a house, so I obviously will not be moving to Seattle to live in a house that would be about $400,000-$500,000 where I live.  It always amazes me that so many of the HH's set a "firm" budget, and then somehow find another $100,000+ to add when they find a house that cost more than they budgeted for.  I did like the house that the Seattle couple bought, but it was in Tacoma, and not Seattle, which made it more affordable, but still over a million.  I do love so many of the houses that they show in the Pacific NW, and have often thought I would like to live there.  Guess that door is now closed given the cost of housing there now.  My brother moved from Nashville to Portland, OR a few years ago, and was astonished at the housing prices there.  He ended up buying a house that would have been much less expensive in Nashville.

[chessiegal]

Location, location, location. I think the "sticker shock" is bs. Who doesn't know what houses cost when you move to a new area?

[laredhead]

7 hours ago, chessiegal said:

Location, location, location. I think the "sticker shock" is bs. Who doesn't know what houses cost when you move to a new area?

In the case of my brother, he knew the prices were high in the Portland area, and it took him a year to find a house, while all the time prices were rising.  It was like chasing the finish line.   

[qtpye]

14 hours ago, laredhead said:

I'm catching up on a many HH episodes that I have not watched recently.  Finding some are repackaged beach house/vacation home episodes, so I just delete them.  Within the last week (I think) was an episode about a couple moving from southern California to the Seattle area, and they professed sticker shock at the price of houses in Seattle.  Have they not read a news article in several years? Their budget was around a million, which is a figure I cannot even imagine paying for a house, so I obviously will not be moving to Seattle to live in a house that would be about $400,000-$500,000 where I live.  It always amazes me that so many of the HH's set a "firm" budget, and then somehow find another $100,000+ to add when they find a house that cost more than they budgeted for.  I did like the house that the Seattle couple bought, but it was in Tacoma, and not Seattle, which made it more affordable, but still over a million.  I do love so many of the houses that they show in the Pacific NW, and have often thought I would like to live there.  Guess that door is now closed given the cost of housing there now.  My brother moved from Nashville to Portland, OR a few years ago, and was astonished at the housing prices there.  He ended up buying a house that would have been much less expensive in Nashville.

I lived in Seattle and enjoyed it there.  Unfortunately, the exorbitant cost of housing is what made us move.  This was over 10 years ago.

 

 

[BAForever]

Hey HH-

Enough with the content creators. The Colorado Springs window washer guy seemed chill, but his wife exhausted me. Cute baby. I turned it off and will continue to turn off anyone who has that career. No idea which they picked, imagine she got her way. 

[laredhead]

3 hours ago, BAForever said:

Enough with the content creators. The Colorado Springs window washer guy seemed chill, but his wife exhausted me. Cute baby. I turned it off and will continue to turn off anyone who has that career. No idea which they picked, imagine she got her way. 

Thank goodness I am not the only one who thought the wife was a piece of work.  Of course, she got here way,and she can live near her friends.  If I had taken a shot of booze every time she said she wanted to be near friends, I would have been drunk by the first commercial.  All she wanted was white counters and a nice kitchen to take photos in.  I doubt she can cook anything. The husband seemed very nice and yes, chill, but she was high maintenance to the max.  Wonder if that marriage will last.  Also, how much $$ does a tall building window washer and a content creator (whatever that is) make?  That house was $500,000+ if I remember correctly. Exhausted is a good word to use to describe how I felt too at the end of that episode.

I also watched the one about he couple in Lancaster, Pennsylvania with the wife's mother planning to live with them.  She has/had cancer, and wanted to have a space to call her own within the house.   The wife's voice drove me nuts, and I hated that she was planning to paint the kitchen cabinets lime green, but i's her house, and she stated several times that she loved color and is a maximalist, so that might be a house worth visiting in a follow up show if HGTV ever does that again.  I liked the house they bought, but it was basically a no brainer compared to the other 2 that were shown.       

Edited February 13 by laredhead
Correct typo

[BAForever]

1 hour ago, laredhead said:

Thank goodness I am not the only one who thought the wife was a piece of work.  Of course, she got here way,and she can live near her friends.  If I had taken a shot of booze every time she said she wanted to be near friends, I would have been drunk by the first commercial. 

Don't forget she wanted to be close to her climbing gym, that was a big factor too @laredhead. Glad someone else found her annoying. 

[chessiegal]

Lancaster, PA. Y'all made me look. The wife had a nasally voice. I hope she enjoys her colorful house.

[Tess23]

8 hours ago, chessiegal said:

Lancaster, PA. Y'all made me look. The wife had a nasally voice. I hope she enjoys her colorful house.

I'm noticing that women affecting nasal tones is the new vocal fry. It's certainly not charming.

[chessiegal]

2 minutes ago, Tess23 said:

I'm noticing that women affecting nasal tones is the new vocal fry. It's certainly not charming.

Good grief! Women want to sound like The Nanny? Ugh.

[Johannah]

I keep reading about 'vocal fry' here.  I've never heard about it anywhere else but here.  Is this something you can force your voice to do?  I thought it was just their voice.  Annoying, but not something they could do anything about.   ???

[chessiegal]

5 minutes ago, Johannah said:

I keep reading about 'vocal fry' here.  I've never heard about it anywhere else but here.  Is this something you can force your voice to do?  I thought it was just their voice.  Annoying, but not something they could do anything about.   ???

Vocal fry is definitely something you can do on purpose. I've seen it credited to the Kardashians.

[Bastet]

This is my favorite video about vocal fry when it's an affectation:

 

[rhofmovalley]

That and "baby voice", which some grown women seem to think makes them sound cute.  It doesn't.  It's an affectation that makes you sound ridiculous.

[Mollywolly555]

On 2/13/2025 at 5:02 AM, BAForever said:

Hey HH-

Enough with the content creators. The Colorado Springs window washer guy seemed chill, but his wife exhausted me. Cute baby. I turned it off and will continue to turn off anyone who has that career. No idea which they picked, imagine she got her way. 

Yes,  she did. But they are young and have a baby, so I think being around others... friends, family is a good idea.

I LOVED the Woodland Park home,  but I've been there and its quite out of the way. It's  beautiful area though. I cd live there if I worked remotely. Lots of animals... we saw deer near the road, and I hear they get visits from mountain lions.. it's that remote.

[BAForever]

Repeat which I prob fell asleep during first watch. Debt-free in Wilmington, NC. I do appreciate these lower budget HH'ers, their budget was between $300,000 and $325,000 and it seems like they were forced to sell a previous home due to debt. Good for them for getting out of debt and having a reasonable budget, and she was a former teacher and planning to homeschool her sons.  In today's world, many couples need 2 incomes. Kind of surprised me that even though wife HH had a career, she was committed to homeschool and having less to spend on her home. 

 

Edited Tuesday at 09:45 PM by BAForever

[laredhead]

Tacoma to Spokane HH's episode - I agreed with the husband regarding the lack of overhead kitchen cabinets.  In the reveal they had not added any, and the open shelves looked "staged", curated, or whatever decorators call the look now.  I would have the shelves removed and add cabinets.  Otherwise I liked the house, and the lighter floors and woodwork.  I like the basement in that house too, but I guess his recliner didn't get banished to the basement.  The beard was distracting to me, but I'm not a long beard fan.

[CrazyInAlabama]

My guess is that the house hunters cheaped out, and didn't want upper cabinets because of the cost.   Or they were going to do short term rentals eventually, and open shelves are better for renters so they can find dishes and glassware easier.   

[pdlinda]

13 hours ago, laredhead said:

The beard was distracting to me, but I'm not a long beard fan.

DITTO

[laredhead]

Watched a recent episode about a couple in Chicago who own a couple of rental properties, and the wife wanted another multi-family place where they could live in one unit and rent out the other space(s), but the husband wanted a single family house with bathrooms.  They were living in a studio apt with 2 children (not toddlers), and he was tired of sharing a bathroom.  He also did not want to live on the property as a landlord because the tenant would call him for things that needed repairing. They ended up in the neighborhood that the wife wanted, in a duplex that the wife wanted, and planning to do a major reno.  The place looked like it needed to be gutted to the roof and walls, or even razed - IMO.  They claimed to be spending about $100,000 to do the entire project.  The bedrooms looked to be the size of a walk in closet, and each unit had only 1200 sf which is fine unless you have children who are about to be teenagers.  I want space to retreat to in my house, and I have just one cat - lol.   I do hope the husband at least gets an extra bathroom out of this.  This one would be a good one for the HH Where Are They Now if that show ever returns.    

[ECM1231]

7 hours ago, laredhead said:

Watched a recent episode about a couple in Chicago who own a couple of rental properties, and the wife wanted another multi-family place where they could live in one unit and rent out the other space(s), but the husband wanted a single family house with bathrooms.  They were living in a studio apt with 2 children (not toddlers), and he was tired of sharing a bathroom.  He also did not want to live on the property as a landlord because the tenant would call him for things that needed repairing. They ended up in the neighborhood that the wife wanted, in a duplex that the wife wanted, and planning to do a major reno.  The place looked like it needed to be gutted to the roof and walls, or even razed - IMO.  They claimed to be spending about $100,000 to do the entire project.  The bedrooms looked to be the size of a walk in closet, and each unit had only 1200 sf which is fine unless you have children who are about to be teenagers.  I want space to retreat to in my house, and I have just one cat - lol.   I do hope the husband at least gets an extra bathroom out of this.  This one would be a good one for the HH Where Are They Now if that show ever returns.    

I continue to be amazed at how affordable Chicago properties are.