House Hunters - General Discussion

[Hedgehog2022]

1 hour ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I searched "Nashville The Nations" and a map popped up, with that giant electric plant it was easy to see the neighborhood.    It's full of industrial, and other warehouse businesses, and just up the road is a state prison.   Some of the individual homes are nice, but a lot aren't.  

Oh great..a warehouse district, power plant AND a state prison! Way to go! What the hell was that realtor thinking?

[LittleIggy]

20 hours ago, Kenzie said:

They share a wall, are a few feet from their neighbor

Bet the neighbors don’t have a crying newborn! 🙄

[LittleIggy]

2 hours ago, chessiegal said:

That electrical facility in the Nashville episode is not a power plant, it's a substation.

I kept saying that to the TV, but nobody listened to me.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I changed my post from power plant to substation, but that was a very big substation.   I saw nothing walkable about that area.  I simply don't see the logic in buying a place that isn't a long term home.    Especially when they're probably buying at the top of the market, and who knows how long that price will hold up.   THat park across the street is nothing but a big field.   

The hunters on this show that keep saying they'll get a home for a couple of years, and then move on amaze me.    There are a lot of costs involved with selling and moving, and who knows what the market will be in a couple of years. 

Edited June 25, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[Kenzie]

3 hours ago, Hedgehog2022 said:

Oh great. A warehouse district, power plant AND a state prison! Way to go! What the hell was that realtor thinking?

Oh, and there's more. A wrecking yard, mulch plant and truck fueling station all within view. Lovely.

[laredhead]

I just did the deep dive into the satellite map of that area.  From what I could see, there aren't any places to walk to such as restaurants, bars, tree lined streets, etc.  Kenzie is correct about the wrecking yard, mulch plant, and fueling station within a couple of blocks.  There is a park about 2 blocks away that looks like a park with ball fields, and some playground equipment.  I do wonder how many times the husband will be taking that walk so that his child can meet other children.  The wife stated that she was going to put her foot down and get her way.  She needs a bigger foot, IMO.  There is no way I would have bought that house.  

[amarante]

9 hours ago, Hedgehog2022 said:

Oh great..a warehouse district, power plant AND a state prison! Way to go! What the hell was that realtor thinking?

In fairness I think the choice was because the HH had set impossible criteria in terms of wanting to be "walkable" to what I am assuming is "downtown" Nashville - whatever that means. 

Realtor said that if the house weren't across the street from the substation it would sell for about $100,000 more in that specific neighborhood.

The couple weren't willing to make any other compromise in order to live in a neighborhood that was *walkable" in terms of an older home or one that didn't have new trendy features and layout. 

Their definition of *walkable* differs completely from my definition as I don't think their location or even that neighborhood is what I would call *walkable* compared to standard definitions. At best it is a shorter commute to central business district or is a cheaper UBER ride. 

But bottom line is that it really isn't different from having an unrealistically low budget for one's "wants. I can *want* to have a great condo in Manhattan or London for $500,000 but that doesn't mean I will find one so either I buy a tiny dilapidated condo facing an air shaft in an inconvenient neighborhood (by Manhattan standards) or I expand my location. In this episode if they wanted location PLUS new/shiny/trendy they needed to spend at least $100,000 more. 

[ByaNose]

I don’t care what it is. It’s a power plant & it was ugly. LOL!!!! There is no way I would have bought that house for short or long term. The dog park looked like a cemetery. That house would have been a total hard pass. I know they say buying a home is a good investment but it needs to be a desirable home, too. Nope!

[LittleIggy]

8 hours ago, Kenzie said:

Oh, and there's more. A wrecking yard, mulch plant and truck fueling station all within view. Lovely.

Sounds like redneck paradise! 😆

[LittleIggy]

3 hours ago, laredhead said:

I just did the deep dive into the satellite map of that area.  From what I could see, there aren't any places to walk to such as restaurants, bars, tree lined streets, etc. 

I wondered what they were supposed to be able to walk to since the overhead shots that were shown didn’t show anything that looked like an attraction. Downtown Nashville with the high rise buildings was off in the distance.

Edited June 25, 2022 by LittleIggy

[laredhead]

Littlelggy, wait until that mulch yard begins to emit an aroma in the hot summertime and the wind blows from that direction.  Downtown Nashville is not within walking distance of that house.  I was depressed at the end of that episode, and remembered P.T. Barnum's saying of there's one born every minute.  Wait until they try to sell that place, with higher interest rates and a deflating real estate bubble. 

[ECM1231]

Shame on that Nashville realtor. I don't know how she could show them that house in good conscience. That said, the wife sure was a patsy. It would be one thing if it were just the two of them, but they have a newborn to worry about for goodness sake.  I'd be sick with worry about the substation being directly across from the house.

When I married Mr. ECM, he already owned a home. It was two houses in from a busy street, but the worst part was that a dry cleaner was on the corner. I always worried about that.  A few years later, I was never so happy as when the dry cleaner closed and a Blockbuster video rental store took over the space. We were there for 14 years before we moved to a much quieter  town and block. 

[javajeanelaine]

Dimitri is an asshole 

[Dehumidifier]

Is everyone forgetting that they have already bought the house when the film the show? Why did they buy that one. They owned a big house (didn't the wife say 3,000 sq. ft.?) in Arkansas and the wife said she wouldn't compromise on space. they obviously couldn't afford a nice big house in Nashville and weren't willing to rent for a few years and save up. probably a mistake. Other than the location, I thought the house interior was over-improved for the area. That's the kind of house that usually has Formica countertops and those apartment grade cabinets with a white Formica front and a bit of wood trim 

[amarante]

19 hours ago, Dehumidifier said:

. Other than the location, I thought the house interior was over-improved for the area. That's the kind of house that usually has Formica countertops and those apartment grade cabinets with a white Formica front and a bit of wood trim 

The developer knew exactly what they were doing when they built that home. The finishes are not that expensive for a builder but they are new and shiny and trendy and so will attract exactly the kind of idiotic buyer who is *dazzled* by the shiny like a toddler. 

Those finishes are builder grade and a relatively small cost in order to be able to sell a home in that terrible location to some idiots. I would suspect nothing is truly of high quality and the cabinets are white but poor quality and the lower cabinets were doors instead of more expensive deep drawers. It wasn’t really an upscale kitchen but just what unsophisticated buyers think is upscale. 

ETA Whether the Nashville home was newly built or just completely gutted is irrelevant as whoever the developer or flipper was knew exactly what was needed in terms of trendy finishes in order to get the prospective idiot buyer to overlook the issues of location. Once a "professional" does a gut remodel it is not more expensive to put in builder grade trendy finishes which will command a significantly higher purchase price because the target market is stupid for the most part. We see it all on the time on HH in some way or another - HH exclaim about the stainless appliances without realizing that stainless appliances can be cheap and lower end or if the kitchen is trendy looking HH overlook that the cabinets are cheap and not configured as well as they could be.

Edited June 26, 2022 by amarante

[Dehumidifier]

1 hour ago, amarante said:

The developer knew exactly what they were doing when they built that home. The finishes are not that expensive for a builder but they are new and shiny and trendy and so will attract exactly the kind of idiotic buyer who is *dazzled* by the shiny like a toddler. 

Those finishes are builder grade and a relatively small cost in order to be able to sell a home in that terrible location to some idiots. I would suspect nothing is truly of high quality and the cabinets are white but poor quality and the lower cabinets were doors instead of more expensive deep drawers. It wasn’t really an upscale kitchen but just what unsophisticated buyers think is upscale. 

Somebody upthread said it was a new build. If so, I missed it.  They (semi-detached) looked like old houses that had been renovated to me.

[Hedgehog2022]

13 hours ago, Kenzie said:

Oh, and there's more. A wrecking yard, mulch plant and truck fueling station all within view. Lovely.

But is the hubby close to the bars, restaurants and shops because that was more important than a safe family neighborhood for his wife and child.

1 hour ago, amarante said:

The developer knew exactly what they were doing when they built that home. The finishes are not that expensive for a builder but they are new and shiny and trendy and so will attract exactly the kind of idiotic buyer who is *dazzled* by the shiny like a toddler. 

Those finishes are builder grade and a relatively small cost in order to be able to sell a home in that terrible location to some idiots. I would suspect nothing is truly of high quality and the cabinets are white but poor quality and the lower cabinets were doors instead of more expensive deep drawers. It wasn’t really an upscale kitchen but just what unsophisticated buyers think is upscale. 

I guess there are zero regulations in Tennessee about building residential housing that close to a power substation...

[StatisticalOutlier]

For all its faults, the Nashville episode was a breath of fresh air because I don't remember a single "you guys" or the more heinous "your guys's" out of the realtor's mouth.  She consistently used the infinitely better "y'all," which can even be made un-torturedly possessive with "y'all's."  Mad respect to the South.

[Hedgehog2022]

4 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

I wondered what they were supposed to be able to walk to since the overhead shots that were shown didn’t show anything that looked like an attraction. Downtown Nashville with the high rise buildings was off in the distance.

No one in the music industry in Nashville lives downtown unless they don't have a record contract yet or are just starting out there. Most of the "stars" and other music industry people live on huge farms outside of Nashville. So if Mr. Greek was thinking he would bump into Dolly,Taylor, Loretta or anyone else of some stature in downtown he is badly mistaken. Nope..he'll bumping into tourists or outsiders who are hoping to catch a break in the business.

[CrazyInAlabama]

  Maybe the builder bought the houses, tore down the originals, and built new, because that was a very narrow lot.    I wonder if the brewing company the husband worked for was in that area?    

I'm hoping the Nashville husband demand for a huge office, but their baby had a small bedroom was a storyline, like the walkability to bars and restaurants was too.    

I still wonder what that big empty field is across from the house, the real park with a playground is not that close.      I wonder about the flood danger of that area too, that was part of the reason my friend on the south end of that area moved.    Actually, I think that part of the  Nations by the river does flood.    That might be why so many houses they showed near the one they bought had raised foundations, so that might not just be for style, but to prevent water damage.  

The prices in Nashville are so high, I guess you get what you can afford.   

Edited June 29, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[rhofmovalley]

17 hours ago, Hedgehog2022 said:

Oh great..a warehouse district, power plant AND a state prison! Way to go! What the hell was that realtor thinking?

The realtor didn't choose the house.  It was already purchased prior to filming.  However, it is possible she really was their realtor and was given very narrow parameters based on price.  Or on the overgrown frat boy husband who needed to be able to walk to bars while his wife stays at home raising their child.

[Hedgehog2022]

4 minutes ago, rhofmovalley said:

The realtor didn't choose the house.  It was already purchased prior to filming.  However, it is possible she really was their realtor and was given very narrow parameters based on price.  Or on the overgrown frat boy husband who needed to be able to walk to bars while his wife stays at home raising their child.

Wait What? So the "realtor" is a fake and they didn't really look at the other properties? I'm shocked! Well, not really.

[Dehumidifier]

31 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Yes, I found what I think was the predecessor to the duplex, and it looked very similar to the house they bought.    Maybe the builder bought the houses, tore down the originals, and built new, because that was a very narrow lot.    I wonder if the brewing company the husband worked for was in that area?    

Without seeing them, gutted and re-facaded would be my guess.

[LittleIggy]

58 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

For all its faults, the Nashville episode was a breath of fresh air because I don't remember a single "you guys" or the more heinous "your guys's" out of the realtor's mouth.  She consistently used the infinitely better "y'all," which can even be made un-torturedly possessive with "y'all's."  Mad respect to the South.

I got sick of hearing all the y’all this and y’all that from the realtor. And I am from the South. I try not to say “y’all.”

[amarante]

1 hour ago, Hedgehog2022 said:

Wait What? So the "realtor" is a fake and they didn't really look at the other properties? I'm shocked! Well, not really.

I think almost everyone on this forum knows that the houses are in escrow and the storylines are exaggerated.

I do think that for the most part the actual realtors are shown on HH - it is the International show where there is more fakery because some of the HH have been living in the place for a year or more and the "realtor" is often just a friend and the decoys don't even represent actual available housing as they are often the apartments or homes of friends.

However the reality is that the HH were shown this awful house in Nashville and decided to purchase it - awful location; not particularly "walkable" or at least not walkable in the sense that any urbanite actually means as walkable - e.g. being able to walk to amenities of urban life. 

[chessiegal]

If they show the first and last name of the real estate agent, it's easy enough to find out if they are a real estate agent. All the ones I've checked are real estate agents.

[cameron]

18 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

I wondered what they were supposed to be able to walk to since the overhead shots that were shown didn’t show anything that looked like an attraction. Downtown Nashville with the high rise buildings was off in the distance.

I'm thinking they could push the baby along the sides of the interstate to downtown, and she will have a great working knowledge of different car models growing up.

Edited June 26, 2022 by cameron

[cameron]

16 hours ago, javajeanelaine said:

Dimitri is an asshole 

Totally agree.  Why she ever married him is beyond me.

[cameron]

10 hours ago, chessiegal said:

If they show the first and last name of the real estate agent, it's easy enough to find out if they are a real estate agent. All the ones I've checked are real estate agents.

The one on the Nashville segment is legit.

[laredhead]

Have to chime in one more time on the Nashville episode.  I can't remember one that had me yelling at the buyers more than this one, but I'm sure there has been one in years past.  The house is a new build, and a duplex.  The style is what is called "tall and skinny" in Nashville.  A few years ago, there were a couple of episodes that featured those tall and skinny houses, as well as a couple that had a house on the front of the lot, and one in the back.  I can't remember what those were called, but they did have a catchy name.  I would be so depressed if I had to live there.  The wife even said in the closing scene that it wasn't so bad since they were inside most of the time so they could look at the beautiful kitchen then.  Feel sorry for the future dog in that concrete back yard with a 5' patch of grass for both the dog and baby to play on while the hubby is walking to some far off amenity he was so desperate to have nearby.       

[StatisticalOutlier]

17 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

I got sick of hearing all the y’all this and y’all that from the realtor. And I am from the South. I try not to say “y’all.”

Do people actually prefer "you guys" every time a HH couple is addressed?  And convolutions like "This can be your guys's entertaining area"?  

I'm from Texas so "y'all" is ingrained in me, but I prefer a simple "you."  What's so hard about "I think you'll love this house," addressing both people collectively?  And even better, "This can be your entertaining area."

It's as if this realtor, and the realtors who say "you guys" incessantly, aren't even aware that "you" can refer to more than one person, and is infinitely less annoying.

I'm not sure which makes me twitch more:  "your guys's," or "I mean" at the start of every sentence. 

[rhofmovalley]

I wasn't saying the real estate agent wasn't a legit agent.  I just meant she didn't necessarily choose that house for the Nashville family.  When I've worked with an agent they either sent me listings so I could choose which ones I wanted to view, or they sent me a link to their personal MLS page and I chose listings to view from there.  So for whatever reason that couple saw that listing and said "yeah, that's what we've been looking for!" and made the purchase.

I've seen other dicey housing purchase decisions on HH and I guess that was the best they could get for whatever they were able to afford.

There was that lady wrestler who bought in South L.A. Those were some seriously dicey areas but she was extremely limited by her budget.

[Empress1]

16 hours ago, chessiegal said:

If they show the first and last name of the real estate agent, it's easy enough to find out if they are a real estate agent. All the ones I've checked are real estate agents.

I think many real estate agents use the show as a marketing tool, which I get. From what I understand, the financial benefit to the hunters is tiny and there’s none for the agent, but maybe they can put “as seen on HGTV’s House Hunters” on their website and drum up a few more clients that way.

[chessiegal]

3 minutes ago, Empress1 said:

I think many real estate agents use the show as a marketing tool, which I get. From what I understand, the financial benefit to the hunters is tiny and there’s none for the agent, but maybe they can put “as seen on HGTV’s House Hunters” on their website and drum up a few more clients that way.

Oh, for sure the agents use it as a marketing tool. We thought about moving to Wilmington, NC after retiring. There was a HH show in Wilmington and I liked the agent. I looked him up and he had on his web site he was featured on HH.

[cameron]

3 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Do people actually prefer "you guys" every time a HH couple is addressed?  And convolutions like "This can be your guys's entertaining area"?  

I'm from Texas so "y'all" is ingrained in me, but I prefer a simple "you."  What's so hard about "I think you'll love this house," addressing both people collectively?  And even better, "This can be your entertaining area."

It's as if this realtor, and the realtors who say "you guys" incessantly, aren't even aware that "you" can refer to more than one person, and is infinitely less annoying.

I'm not sure which makes me twitch more:  "your guys's," or "I mean" at the start of every sentence. 

I get really bothered when the realtor uses the word foot instead of feet when mentioning size of house.

[CruiseDiva]

12 minutes ago, cameron said:

I get really bothered when the realtor uses the word foot instead of feet when mentioning size of house.

That's one of my major pet peeves. I first noticed it when the Chimpster repeatedly used foot instead of feet on Fixer Upper.

Another one... does everyone "host" these days? I've never heard any actual real people that I know talk about "hosting" in conversation. 

[Empress1]

51 minutes ago, CruiseDiva said:

Another one... does everyone "host" these days? I've never heard any actual real people that I know talk about "hosting" in conversation. 

I’ve heard it in reference to holidays or special occasions. One of my old colleagues said she and her husband “hosted every holiday” because she wanted her kids to remember holidays at home. If you had a regular party you’d just say you had a party or “had people over.”

[Bastet]

9 hours ago, CruiseDiva said:

Another one... does everyone "host" these days? I've never heard any actual real people that I know talk about "hosting" in conversation. 

I think mostly in the context of complaining "I am always the one hosting", or, specific to house-hunting, stating "I host all the holiday dinners, so need a big dining room" (although I think just as many would say "I'm the one who does all the holiday dinners ..." or "Holiday dinners are always at my house ..."), but not describing individual gatherings (as noted above, those would typically be phrased as "I had a party last weekend" or "I had Blah and Blah over for dinner the other night", not as "I hosted ...").   

[Dehumidifier]

20 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Do people actually prefer "you guys" every time a HH couple is addressed?  And convolutions like "This can be your guys's entertaining area"?  

I'm from Texas so "y'all" is ingrained in me, but I prefer a simple "you."  What's so hard about "I think you'll love this house," addressing both people collectively?  And even better, "This can be your entertaining area."

I say "you two" if I want to emphasize that I am talking to both members of a couple.  

[cameron]

21 minutes ago, Dehumidifier said:

I say "you two" if I want to emphasize that I am talking to both members of a couple.  

The other bad word choice is "youens".

[BAForever]

Been on vaca,  so missed the Nashville epi, but read this forum on ride home and since I've finished  laundry and grocery shopping I rewarded myself and sat down to watch. Dimitri is a bougie hipster douche. If I were looking to purchase,  I would have driven right by that place. 

Edited June 27, 2022 by BAForever

[StatisticalOutlier]

19 hours ago, cameron said:

I get really bothered when the realtor uses the word foot instead of feet when mentioning size of house.

I haven't noticed because I'm too busy twitching from the other annoyances.  But do they say, "This house has 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, and is 1200 square foot"?

[rhofmovalley]

3 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I haven't noticed because I'm too busy twitching from the other annoyances.  But do they say, "This house has 2 bedrooms, 1 bath, and is 1200 square foot"?

They do.

Another pet peeve of mine is when someone says "betrooms" instead of bedrooms. Ugh. No "t" in the word "bedroom"!

At least I haven't heard anyone say "mirra" instead of "mirror". Or "buh-en" instead of "button". Although why anyone would say "button" during a house viewing I can't imagine 😄

[proserpina65]

On 6/24/2022 at 10:05 AM, Kemper said:

I am probably wrong on this, but aren’t power plants considered to be potentially dangerous to live next to/nearby? Health wise?

Depends on the type of power plant.  If it's just electricity, then no, it's not any more dangerous than another business.  Coal, well that's a whole different matter.

On 6/24/2022 at 11:55 AM, amarante said:

because a lot of industrial land was used to discard toxic products. 

That would be a legitimate concern.

On 6/24/2022 at 10:02 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

It's full of industrial, and other warehouse businesses, and just up the road is a state prison. 

Nothing says "desirable neighborhood" more than a state prison up the road.  Oy.

On 6/25/2022 at 3:48 AM, Kenzie said:

Oh, and there's more. A wrecking yard, mulch plant and truck fueling station all within view. Lovely.

How do I get in on that?

[CrazyInAlabama]

I searched The Nations, Nashville, clicked on the satellite map, and looked next to the top left area which is where the park the substation is.     Some of the other parts of that area look very nice.   However, the breweries, and restaurants were on the other end of the area.   I can't imagine trying to sell that, with the total lack of anything resembling a view, or neighborhood about it.   I'm wondering about that 'park' that's nothing but grassed over bare land. 

I looked at a realtor map for that area, and clicked on Flood, 2 to 3 feet for that area around the substation.    

It sounds like an interesting area, and I think that the lower end of that area was where a friend used to live.   The south and east side are much more restaurant, and other activity friendly than the north west area.  

Edited June 29, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[amarante]

16 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I searched The Nations, Nashville, clicked on the satellite map, and looked next to the top left area which is where the park the substation is.     Some of the other parts of that area look very nice.   However, the breweries were on the other end of the area.  

It sounds like an interesting area, and I think that the lower end of that area was where a friend used to live.   The south and east side are much more restaurant, and other activity friendly than the north west area.  

Zoning is everything in terms of land use and there almost always is a demarcation that might appear arbitrary.

I live on one side of a street and the zoning on the other side is zoned for large scale commercial and recreational use - e.g. there are taller buildings, retail type of stuff as well as theaters and clubs as it is actually a major tourist zone - now my neighborhood is actually walkable LOL but I digress.

I was involved when a building across from the commercial zoning was bought and the developer attempted to get a variance which would have enable the developer to build a high rise with commercial establishments on the ground floor and our neighborhood successfully fought City Hall on that one - in part by having the Church that was there declared a historic monument. Zoning for churches is generally allowed along certain streets in a neighborhood even if they are otherwise residential.

So in the Nashville location the street probably was zoned for heavy industrial use on one side and residential on the other. However the original houses were probably built for the workers and were pretty low class. If the neighborhood had higher end houses they would have been built in the area that was furthest away from the industrial zoning. Like old mill towns where the modest homes built for the workers in the mills and factories are close to the factories and houses get bigger and more luxurious as you move further away. 

I went to school in upstate New York where there was a major river with lots of small towns and the occasional larger city like Binghamton/Endicott built along the river and there were generally palatial homes along the riverbank which housed the very prosperous at the end of the 19th century when they were originally built.

Edited June 27, 2022 by amarante

[cameron]

1 hour ago, rhofmovalley said:

They do.

Another pet peeve of mine is when someone says "betrooms" instead of bedrooms. Ugh. No "t" in the word "bedroom"!

At least I haven't heard anyone say "mirra" instead of "mirror". Or "buh-en" instead of "button". Although why anyone would say "button" during a house viewing I can't imagine 😄

Thought I was the only one that heard that "t" being used in bedroom, but I have to admit my Baltimore accent does pronounce "mirra" instead of mirror and the way we pronounce oil.

[Kenzie]

2 hours ago, proserpina65 said:

How do I get in on that?

The house is one house back from the corner of Morrow Road and 63rd, Nashville, on Google Maps.

[BAForever]

1 hour ago, Kenzie said:

The house is one house back from the corner of Morrow Road and 63rd, Nashville, on Google Maps.

Thanks Kenzie! I did Google Maps. No way that neighborhood is "walkable" to downtown fun. And that "playground" isn't. Doormat wife even admitted that she disliked the neighborhood in the "after the doorbell rang" TH. 

[chessiegal]

Re: square footage:

Quote

Although the pluralization is regular in the noun form, when used as an adjective, the singular is preferred. So, an apartment measuring 700 square feet could be described as a 700 square-foot apartment. This corresponds to common linguistic usage of foot. The square foot unit is commonly used in real estate.