Jump to content

Type keyword(s) to search

House Hunters - General Discussion


  • Reply
  • Start Topic

Recommended Posts

On 3/13/2023 at 1:19 PM, Lady Lucy said:

I knew immediately that the Chicago woman (with the realtor sister) was picking the mid-rise that was under renovation.

 

It wasn't until the very end of this episode that I realized I had seen it before, as some posters above have mentioned. And I realized it because I remember thinking the exact same thing as Lady Lucy. Surprise, when she peeled back the paper, she really liked the kitchen countertops. It was obvious that her stuff was already there, and her renovations had already begun.

  • Like 1
8 hours ago, kirklandia said:

Florida to Pittsburgh couple. He wanted Victorian, and he wanted open concept. She wanted mid-century modern, and she wanted rooms that were separated. Seems like they got their signals switched. Maybe that's how they ended up with the mid-century colonial!

What the heck with the quote from me? I didn’t say that!🤔

From Houston to Michigan to Run a Bed and Breakfast

This zookeeper couple wanted to open a nature-themed bed and breakfast in rural Michigan. They wanted acreage so that their guests could enjoy birding and hiking. At the first home, they thought the basement might make a good place for the guest(s). Just a basement.

I'm not understanding how this would bring in much income. As zookeepers, I somehow doubt that they will be working from home in Michigan, and there was no mention of jobs locally.

The wife stated that maybe they would do a glamping thing at first.  At one point she commented that for $360K, one home with 10 acres would have to be move-in ready. 🙄

They ended up getting a place with 10 acres. When they pulled up to it, the husband said that, "it looks like a house". They got it for $239K. Three bedrooms, two baths. She will use one room as her crafting room. They hope to build Accessory Dwelling Units for guests. Imagine arriving here at the start of your vacation.

trailer.png.446654eafb91dd35c6d5db4310a3260c.png

Maybe you adventurous researchers can look up Leaf and Father Farms in Cement City and let us know how the business is going. Maybe even book a visit. As a private residence that the couple wanted to turn into a small wildlife habitat, this made sense although I would still wonder what they would do for an income. But a B&B? Do they have other money stashed away for this venture?

Talk about a half-baked business plan. Or a half-baked HH back story. 

 

  • Like 11

I agree that Houston to Michigan couple hadn't really thought things through. A B&B is usually a charming residence, maybe historic. The home they chose certainly was neither. You also don't put paying guests in a basement. If they were going to build stand alone ADUs, or even glamping sites, that sort of negates the whole bed and breakfast concept. I don't know what kind of tourism that area has, but hopefully they will get daytime jobs to support themselves.

  • Like 8
3 hours ago, amarante said:

I followed the link. There is no bnb. She is getting her graduate degree. 
 

Maybe they will do someth8jg in the future but definitely was a bogus story 

Yes, their website includes a blog which has a grand total of 3 posts since July 2021.  I have no idea how they are supporting themselves, but it seems that they've done nothing to advance the bed and breakfast idea nor is there any indication that they've done anything with their property to develop it for nature-based learning, etc.

She is attending graduate school and plans to get her Masters in 'Resilient and Sustainable Communities' which ties into what they want to do with their property.  All very vague.  

There is some mention of them looking for full or part time work  when they first moved to Michigan, no mention of what kind of work that might be.  I suspect his parents have some sort of successful business and they are supporting themselves by working in it. Or there's some sort of inheritance or trust fund out there.  Zookeepers do not make a lot of money; I doubt they could've saved enough in Houston to keep them going without jobs for 2 years.

The most recent blog post was made on Tuesday just before the episode aired.  The other two posts are over a year and a half old.

  • Useful 5
13 hours ago, chediavolo said:

What the heck with the quote from me? I didn’t say that!🤔

Someone else said it, and you quoted it.  And then the next poster pulled the text from your quote of it, rather than the original. 

When Poster A posts something, Poster B quotes it in their reply, and then Poster C also responds to what A said, but pulls the text from B's reply rather than A's original, the system attributes the quote (in C's post) to B.  In this case, you were B.

  • Like 3
  • Thanks 1
  • Useful 1

My DVR caught an episode that it thought was new.

However the back story was so strange I wanted to see what was really the back story so I googled. It evidently was a repeat from a year ago but I don't remember it - Fresh Start in Tampa. Their son Elijah had "decided to make an unexpected departure from this world" - their words and after two years they were ready to buy a new house in Tampa.

She mentioned the name of the foundation she set up in the segment so my mentioning it isn't doxxing - She said it was called Eli's Treasure Foundation and was intended to help people have fun.

They were an odd couple. She wanted a fireplace and a pool because Eli liked to swim. Didn't wind up with a pool but they did get a fireplace. 

Extremely odd couple - he said he was in cyber security. She said she had two jobs and then mentioned her surviving kid's names so I guess that is now a thing instead of being a SAH parent. 

Edited by amarante
  • Like 3
1 hour ago, mojito said:

Something didn't seem right, so I did the lookup myself.

Leaf and Feather Farms

 

 

Glad to see that they're at least renovating the house.  Doesn't seem like  B&B is anywhere in the near future, though.

50 minutes ago, amarante said:

My DVR caught an episode that it thought was new.

However the back story was so strange I wanted to see what was really the back story so I googled. It evidently was a repeat from a year ago but I don't remember it - Fresh Start in Tampa. Their son Elijah had decided to make an unexpected departure from this world" - their words and after two years they were ready to buy a new house in Tampa.

She mentioned the name of the foundation she set up in the segment so my mentioning it isn't doxxing - She said it was called Eli's Treasure Foundation and was intended to help people have fun.

They were an odd couple. She wanted a fireplace and a pool because Eli liked to swim. Didn't wind up with a pool but they did get a fireplace. 

Extremely odd couple - he said he was in cyber security. She said she had two jobs and then mentioned her surviving kid's names so I guess that is now a thing instead of being a SAH parent. 

They were definitely different.  On the Eli's Treasures website, there is no further discussion as to how the child died, but quite a bit of Christian ideology and comment.  It looks like the foundation is meant to raise money to proselytize kids.

I really didn't love any of the houses they looked at.  The second one, in Brandon, was probably the best in terms of structure and price. but nothing special.

Took a trip down the rabbit hole at Reddit where there is a lot of speculation as to the child's cause of death.  However, a busy Redditor did manage to discover why the house may have been such a bargain.  The address is in the news story and you can look on Zillow, it does appear to be the house they purchased.  Creepy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murders_of_Lisa_Fuillerat_and_Samara_Routerberg

Edited by Notabug
  • Like 1
  • Useful 3
On 3/17/2023 at 11:14 AM, mojito said:

From Houston to Michigan to Run a Bed and Breakfast

This zookeeper couple wanted to open a nature-themed bed and breakfast in rural Michigan. They wanted acreage so that their guests could enjoy birding and hiking. At the first home, they thought the basement might make a good place for the guest(s). Just a basement.

I'm not understanding how this would bring in much income. As zookeepers, I somehow doubt that they will be working from home in Michigan, and there was no mention of jobs locally.

The wife stated that maybe they would do a glamping thing at first.  At one point she commented that for $360K, one home with 10 acres would have to be move-in ready. 🙄

They ended up getting a place with 10 acres. When they pulled up to it, the husband said that, "it looks like a house". They got it for $239K. Three bedrooms, two baths. She will use one room as her crafting room. They hope to build Accessory Dwelling Units for guests. Imagine arriving here at the start of your vacation.

trailer.png.446654eafb91dd35c6d5db4310a3260c.png

Maybe you adventurous researchers can look up Leaf and Father Farms in Cement City and let us know how the business is going. Maybe even book a visit. As a private residence that the couple wanted to turn into a small wildlife habitat, this made sense although I would still wonder what they would do for an income. But a B&B? Do they have other money stashed away for this venture?

Talk about a half-baked business plan. Or a half-baked HH back story. 

 

Right??? Good grief, that house they bought was awful. No front door, major repairs and oher work that was needed. Not sure how the hell they intend to make any money doing a B&B from this dump. 

Edited by Hedgehog2022
  • Like 6
  • LOL 1
12 minutes ago, Hedgehog2022 said:

Right??? Good grief, that house they bought was awful. No front door, major repairs and oher work that was needed. Not sure how the hell they intend to make any money doing a B&B from this dump. 

They don’t. Why they used this completely fake storyline is bizarre. 

They could have said they are getting graduate degrees and moving closer to family. 

  • Like 6
2 hours ago, amarante said:

It evidently was a repeat from a year ago but I don't remember it - Fresh Start in Tampa. Their son Elijah had "decided to make an unexpected departure from this world" - their words

When he said that, I remembered I'd seen it before.  So I looked for the original discussion and found it, and discovered I'd even commented on Eli's "decision."  I'd completely forgotten.

https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/94184-house-hunters/?do=findComment&comment=7228469

Turns out this is a "local" episode for me--we've been in Brandon for three months now.  It's kind of a ratty town, and I was surprised someone who said he wanted to be in South Tampa would choose Brandon over that.  But the area where they bought (I appreciate the intel offered up here because I was wondering) has houses like the one they bought, with lots of space.  But the neighborhoods are kind of enclave-like, as they often are out in the burbs and generally aren't in South Tampa.

The history of that house is interesting, to say the least, and I noticed Google Street View fuzzes it out.  So they moved away from what some would consider a jinxed house into what many would consider an even more jinxed house.

[OT: Has Wikipedia slid?  Or has it always been this bad?  The article called Lisa Fuillerat "Lisa Fuillerat" consistently (because Vincente Fuillerat is also in the article, so you can't use only their last name).  But the article then said "Nall and Routerberg noticed."  Who the hell is Nall?  Well, that's Lisa Fuillerat's maiden name.  And earlier, in talking about Vincente Fuillerat, it says he married "Lisa Heiler."  The word "Heiler" appears nowhere else in the article although Lisa's mother's maiden name was Cynthia Hailer.  Just a leeetle bit confusing there, Wikipedia.  And to top it off, it really mangled what it claims is a quote from Vincente's lawyer--confusing and incomplete quotation marks, and misquoting either the lawyer or the New York Post (it's hard to tell), but neither said, "He felt the relation was immoral."  Sheeeesh.]

 

 

Edited by StatisticalOutlier

So, woman moved from Phoenix, and now wants a house in Seattle.    I had to laugh when she demanded a big yard for her dog, that turned out to be a Chihuahua that maybe weighed 5 pounds.     I knew she wouldn't buy #2 the townhouse.  

#1 in the burbs certainly had a lot of garage space. 

#3 did nothing for me.   The buyer didn't like any of the tile colors or finishes, and the back deck was OK, but the yard was awful.    I'm not sure the little dog would be able to reach to go up and down stairs.   I didn't like the yard topography at all, and wonder how stable the back yard actually was.    

I'm glad she bought #1, but I'm not sure the boyfriend was too happy with her moving where she moved to.   

  • Like 2

Regarding Phoenix to Washington HH

I don't understand why a single person wants such a large home to rattle around in.There is something between a 600 foot apartment and a four bedroom home in the boonies.

Maybe it's me but I also don't understand why someone who is single and without children would want to live in that kind of out of the way suburb. Putting aside distance from boyfriend, don't most single people want to socialize with friends as well as have proximity to places or experiences that only exist in a relatively urban area. 

The townhouse was not appealing but with her price point, there would have been nice choices that were better suited to a single person's lifestyle.

I realize that the home has already been selected so the decoys are not really the only choices or even the choices available when she was actually looking. I have the same opinion when a HH is shown the large penthouse in a lovely building in the perfect location but it is too much money. So move down a few floors and get something affordable that would still have the same benefits.

 

  • Like 2
22 minutes ago, amarante said:

Maybe it's me but I also don't understand why someone who is single and without children would want to live in that kind of out of the way suburb. Putting aside distance from boyfriend, don't most single people want to socialize with friends as well as have proximity to places or experiences that only exist in a relatively urban area. 

There are single introverts and homebodies. Sometimes I'd love to be one (don't tell the hubby lol). 

  • Like 5
  • Applause 1
1 hour ago, Grrarrggh said:

There are single introverts and homebodies. Sometimes I'd love to be one (don't tell the hubby lol). 

You can be an introvert and a homebody and still not want to rattle around a four bedroom house. Hard to maintain. Hard to heat and cool. Hard to clean.

Also there is a lot on interesting stuff for a single person to do even if they are an introvert. There is a difference between enjoying a balanced life and being solitary especially when one works from home. 

Most people have friends who are more or less in their same life situation and most people don’t want to drive to the suburbs to see a friend. So you wind up having to spend a lot of time driving to a central location and then back home at night. 

2 hours ago, amarante said:

You can be an introvert and a homebody and still not want to rattle around a four bedroom house.

Yes, but those were two different issues raised:  why a large home for one person, and why an outer suburb for a single person. 

I'm an inner suburb person - I want a yard (not huge, but I have fruit trees and grow vegetables), but I also want to be able to access many places on foot and, while I am generally a homebody, I like to be close to a downtown area for when I do go out - but I can understand an outer suburb appealing to a single person if they don't much care what's outside of their own property and heading out gives them more of what they want in home and yard. 

A bunch of extra bedrooms, though, I have trouble wrapping my mind around -- if you're not renting them out (which sounds awful), aren't at least two of them sitting unused the overwhelming majority of the time?  My friend lives alone in a four-bedroom house and it's ridiculous; one is hers, one is a home office, and then two are guest rooms, but they are NEVER both occupied at the same time and other than several long weekends a year, both are empty. 

  • Like 1

Orlando, FL. Which next step are they taking in their relationship? She's buying the house on her own and charging him rent? Sounds like true love to me. And theme park workers don't make that much so her side hustle must be doing well. Tyler is attractive despite the man bun. Admittedly, they seem happy so if it works for them.

  • Like 3
  • Wink 2
8 hours ago, chessiegal said:

Orlando: I was wondering about her cookie business. She clearly plans on making the cookies in her home. Wouldn't you need some kind of permit/inspection to be able to sell cookies made in your home and not a commercial kitchen? Maybe she's just selling the cookies to friends? Just seemed hinky.

You can and pretty easily according to /ij.org/issues/economic-liberty/homemade-food-seller/florida/ Selling homemade food is relatively easy in Florida, thanks to a series of legislative reforms. The first big change came in 2011, when lawmakers expanded the Florida Food Safety Act to allow the sale of non-perishable food prepared in home kitchens without a permit. With support from the Institute for Justice, the state amended the rules in 2017 to allow online sales, while tripling the revenue cap on homemade food sales to $50,000 per year. The changes were good, but the law did not protect homemade food businesses from local interference. The result was a patchwork of regulations with heavy restrictions in places like Jacksonville and Miami-Dade County. State lawmakers ended the confusion with the Home Sweet Home Act and other reforms that took effect in July 2021. Besides creating statewide standardization, preempting local regulations, the new rules raised the revenue cap on homemade food sales to $250,000, legalized mail delivery, and allowed homemade food entrepreneurs to have business partners.

  • Useful 9

I just looked at Maryland's regulations on selling food made in your home. They define it as cottage foods, saying it's legal as long as you don't make more than $25,000/year. And the list of foods you can't make and sell is longer than the list you can. You can't sell any food that needs refrigeration. You can't sell banana bread because of spoilage issues. Cookies are okay, but not macarons. Not sure what the issue is with them.

  • Useful 2

Chicago. I can understand Janet wanting a single family home. But why show her a 4 bedroom one? She doesn't need that much space, no matter how cute the outside is. I liked the condo. Penthouse in the city with a view of the lake below budget. Strip of grass on the balcony for the dogs sounds good to me. But obviously the one 2 blocks from her granddaughter was the one.

  • Like 3

LOL, I was rooting for Grandma to live thisclose to her granddaughter. That realtor/friend of the daughter was a piece of work (so was the S-i-L!). "Penthouse?" Right. Top floor, sure. With the building's roof and mechanicals on top of that unit--what could go wrong?

Oh, and the r/f's idea of putting some turf on the balcony for the dogs to pee and shit upon? Lots of people do it? LOL! More like for Grandma gets regularly and heavily fined as soon as the Board discovers it.

S-i-L made me laugh so hard with his comment about how the first place's slanted roof was like the house giving his M-i-L a hug! Using her "gives me a hug" comment she made about a fireplace was a masterwork in the passive-aggressive. Of course, this house was the farthest away and he already knew she lives nearby.

I hope Grandma finds a good contractor and dependable snow-removal service, and lives happily ever after.

  • Like 3

The condo would have been okay if it was on floor level. I don't blame grandma for not wanting to get dressed every morning and hauling her bad hip out to a dog park across the street... especially in the cold. Later for that. 

The house she picked is not perfect, but it's close to her grandbaby, so it's great! I loved how she re-assured the son-in-law she wouldn't be intrusive. Awww. I thought she was a sweetheart! 

  • Like 6
On 3/21/2023 at 10:37 PM, Grizzly said:

Orlando, FL. Which next step are they taking in their relationship? She's buying the house on her own and charging him rent? Sounds like true love to me. And theme park workers don't make that much so her side hustle must be doing well. Tyler is attractive despite the man bun. Admittedly, they seem happy so if it works for them.

I thought he was her gay best friend. 

  • Like 4
On 3/21/2023 at 7:37 PM, Grizzly said:

Orlando, FL. Which next step are they taking in their relationship? She's buying the house on her own and charging him rent? Sounds like true love to me. And theme park workers don't make that much so her side hustle must be doing well. Tyler is attractive despite the man bun. Admittedly, they seem happy so if it works for them.

Most people who aren't married do pay *rent* if they are living in a home that is owned by their partner. Why would someone let another person live for free?

The only issue is what a fair amount for the rent would be since typically a home has more expenses out of pocket than a rental because there are taxes and maintenance expenses. And if the boyfriend does some upgrade projects, does he get any financial benefit if they break up?

The interesting wrinkle in this episode was that it appeared that the boyfriend didn't have as much money as the buyer did and so that was influencing the purchase.

Of course it is also true that without his contribution, she would be able to afford far less mortgage but I don't think his income (and rental contribution) wouldn't be counted by lenders in terms of approving the amount she can borrow.

  • Like 4

I kept thinking "dammit" every time the narrator said "Janet".

I can't remember, has she had the hip surgery? Because she was walking just like my mother did PRE-surgery. That has to be painful. And yes, she absolutely needs a step in shower. I have trouble stepping over the edge of a tub and I just have a gimpy knee. 

 

 

  • Like 3
16 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Worcester, MA. Uncle Walter is my mvp. It can't be easy dealing with relatives. This couple is good, I can't tell which house they're selecting. They don't seem to like any of them. Worcester is not that close to Boston, surprised to see what half a million gets you there.

I loved Uncle Walter!  I was surprised when he said he'd shown the couple more than 30 homes until they finally bought one.  It's a good thing the husband is a plumber and has a lot of contacts in the building trade because the basement in the house they close will need a lot of work. 

  • Like 2

Prefacing by saying living two blocks away from her daughter and grand daughter is obviously a different experience than living even a relatively short car ride away. I grew up in a two family house with my grandmother living in one of the apartments and our relationship was super special and unlike the ones she had with her other grandchildren who lived further away. And she was super respectful of boundaries so there were no clashes with my parents as she stayed in her own apartment unless she was invited.

Like @rhofmovalley the grandmother's gait completely confused me since she said she had ALREADY had hip surgery. Either the surgery was a failure or there was something else going on because her gait was that of someone who was either in pain or had other issues going on with her mobility. I noticed that she would reach for the door casings as soon as she got to the wall.

All that said, I really don't understand how she thought moving into a single family home made any kind of sense. I live in a high rise with services including staff and there is a lot more that makes a condo much more suitable for a senior - especially one who is moving.

Yes there is no snow but you also don't have to keep on top of all the other issues of a single family home. You are only responsible for what is in your unit - and even with those types of issues, things are simpler. Most recently I needed the batteries changed in my smoke detector. My favorite doorman came up on his lunch - changed them - and I tipped him $20. They take packages - they assist when I come home with packages

As usual the realtor completely underestimated the cost of a bathroom renovation. I remodeled relatively recently with specific thinking about aging in place safely. I took out the bath/shower combination and installed a shower that followed the footprint. So nice and large and includes a very nice bench on one end with grab bars. And it cost well over $4000 to do it so that it was both functional and aesthetic. A tile shower - properly waterproofed and constructed is probably at least $7000 -  more if you have costlier fixtures and finishes. And that is just the shower itself. A master bath remodel on a middle level would cost between $30,000 to $40,000 correctly done.

 

  • Like 7
31 minutes ago, amarante said:

Either the surgery was a failure or there was something else going on because her gait was that of someone who was either in pain or had other issues going on with her mobility

I wonder if she planned to have one hip done at a time and hadn't had the other one done yet. My mother's surgeon recommended when both hips need replacing to have them  done at the same time because, he said, people tend to not want to come back for the second one after the first one is done. So maybe Janet had only one of them done. She certainly moved like someone who was either in pain or couldn't move normally due to structural issues. I felt bad but she seemed cheerful enough. 

  • Like 3

Re the Chicago grandmother, I can totally relate having gone through something similar with a close relative.  The Chicago house had steps that need to be climbed to enter and leave the house.  Not many steps, but if you become incapacitated, even one step can seem like a mountain.  No mention of where the laundry appliances were.  So many of those older homes have them in the basement, and that's more steps.  Would be nice to see this house's real estate listing and pix.  A small yard for her dogs is a plus.  I also wondered if she had a lot of friends in her New Jersey condo, and how she would adjust to single family house living when one can become isolated.  I guess she's planning on the family taking up that slack.  I was a bit conflicted about her choice because I'm facing this in a few years, and it raised the same questions I have been mulling over.  I liked her "spunk" - a throwback to the Mary Tyler Moore/Lou Grant conversation.  

Edited by laredhead
  • Like 4
6 hours ago, Crashcourse said:

On a purely shallow note, she looked creepy with the white eyeliner and hair.

I thought she looked otherworldly and beautiful with the white hair and brown latte complexion. I guess it's all in the eye of the beholder, huh? 

With that being said, I thought her personality was a bit grating. 

 

  • Like 3
54 minutes ago, 40Love said:

I thought she looked otherworldly and beautiful with the white hair and brown latte complexion. I guess it's all in the eye of the beholder, huh? 

With that being said, I thought her personality was a bit grating. 

 

Yeah, it's definitely in the eye of the beholder because if I ever saw her in person, I would jump back because she's scary-looking.  

  • Like 1

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...