House Hunters - General Discussion

[edie3]

3 hours ago, cameron said:

We had a circular staircase and our son didn't want any posed prom pictures on it.

I'm sorry.😪

[mojito]

So sorry, @edie3 and @cameron, that you failed as parents. Harsh reality, I know, but as your friend, I think it's good that you embrace the truth. I'm sure I speak for everyone here when I say that if you need to talk, we'll listen. We'll stand around my humongous kitchen island, sip on chardonnay, pick at finger foods, and talk, HH style. 

Edited August 10, 2023 by mojito

[CrazyInAlabama]

The Wilmington, DE episode.

First House-Homebuyer has no taste.  I have the same kitchen backsplash, and I love it.  Homebuyer snears at my lovely backsplash.   I'm guessing she never cooks anyway, so what is wrong with a lovely updated kitchen?  I find it ridiculous that she would spend that much ripping out a kitchen I bet she'll never use except for carry out.  Change the vinyl floor, and it's still water proof (They said laminate, I hate laminate, it's not waterproof.  Take out the laminate, put in LVP click together, a one day operation, water proof, and you pick a pattern to match the other floors.  

Second Victorian row house.  Narrow rowhouse. Teeny back yard.  2 full baths, guest bath is ensuite with a shower. 

Third house-lowest price. end unit twin townhome, has a driveway (I'm guessing it's a shared driveway, and garage), and $339900, 4 bed 1.5 bath. has a dining room, small kitchen and need redo, floor in kitchen is sagging, backyard has a two car garage, that looks like it's shared. deck is a death trap. Closet is so small on main bedroom, she will need to use another bedroom as a closet. 4th bedroom is in the former attic, with the half bath. So, no bath on the first floor.  Main bathroom is for 3 bedrooms on the second floor. 

She bought #1 . I would have bought #1. However, she wants to flip the dining room and the kitchen.  

Pittsburgh, paying all cash. She does economic development for a non-profit.   

She grew up in the country, and wants 3 to 5 acres. 4 bedrooms.   She wants a glam room for her shoes, makeup, and clothes.  

First house. 4 bed 3 bath, 5 acres, I don't like the steep hillside behind the house.  1994 sq ft. first floor guest room with a full bath, nice kitchen, nice patio, hot tub, top of the hill has a cemetery. 3 bedrooms upstairs, the pink room will be the glam room.  Second bath is on the second floor. primary is decent size, with an ensuite.  There's a red door on the ground floor, what is that for? 

Second in the city, $449,900, all brick, 4 bed 2 bath.  It's on a busy street, and that will be a plus on snow days. 1/3 acres. Sort of victorian, everything is redone with LVP floors on the main floor, built in the 1930s, and all redone. Kitchen is very well done, with a full bath on the first floor. upstairs primary is nice, with another full bath, free standing tub, big shower. Second bedroom is good size, Third floor has two more bedrooms, one for a glam room. No bath on the third floor though. 

Third house. Ranch, 30 minutes out of town. Under budget at $375,000. 2 acres, ranch, but very long gravel driveway.   1 car oversized garage, house doesn't face the road at all. Driveway looks like gravel and sloped. 

House has multiple additions over the years, needs repainting, LVP floors, huge updated kitchen.  1st bathroom is great, first bedroom doesn't have a window. SEcond bedroom doesn't have a window either. Every room needs lighter paint. Primary bedroom is lovely, with double doors to the back deck and hot tub. Main ensuite is wonderful.  The downstairs is a fully finished walkout with a kitchen, living room, bath, so a MIL suite.    The lack of windows on the guest bedrooms would have to be fixed for safety. 

She picks #3.   I hope she adds windows to the bedrooms, and doesn't have issues with the long gravel driveway. 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2023 by CrazyInAlabama

[laredhead]

Wilmington episode - I think the HH is going to be surprised at how much it's going to cost to flip the kitchen into the dining room space and vice versa.  Maybe she has some hidden trust fund $$.  I agree that it was not the most attractive kitchen renovation, but maybe she should spend $$ on some real wood floors for both of those spaces to make a better transition between the two areas.  I did like the entry area with the original stair case treatment.  A lot of those older houses, especially the row houses, give me claustrophobia when they show the narrow stairs and small rooms.

I would love to see the floor plan of the house that the Pittsburgh woman bought.  2 bedrooms w/o windows would be a problem for me.  You couldn't tell if either room had an outside wall, or if they were interior rooms which could not have a window added.  The seller certainly liked dark colors!  Someone mentioned her friend who accompanied her, and I agree that he was pleasant.  Loved his remark about her driving skills - lol.

If anyone from HH production is reading this, please, please bring back the Where Are They Now episodes.  Both of these would be interesting to see what changes have been made.    

[Crashcourse]

Wilmington:  I didn't like any of the houses, but good for her for buying a home at the young age of 25.

Pittsburgh:  She was a strange one, and I wondered how she was able to pay all cash of $375k for the house she chose.  I know some nonprofits can pay nice salaries, but that's a lot of cash.  Maybe she got an inheritance or invested wisely.  I liked her friend though.

[cinsays]

1 hour ago, laredhead said:

Wilmington episode - I think the HH is going to be surprised at how much it's going to cost to flip the kitchen into the dining room space and vice versa.  Maybe she has some hidden trust fund $$.  I agree that it was not the most attractive kitchen renovation, but maybe she should spend $$ on some real wood floors for both of those spaces to make a better transition between the two areas.  I did like the entry area with the original stair case treatment.  A lot of those older houses, especially the row houses, give me claustrophobia when they show the narrow stairs and small rooms.

 

if this is the one I think it is, my impression was that she was expecting her guy friend to just do all the remodeling for her and he already said he works 6 days a week so don't count on him..... but she will turn on the charm, so......

[StatisticalOutlier]

5 hours ago, Crashcourse said:

Pittsburgh:  She was a strange one, and I wondered how she was able to pay all cash of $375k for the house she chose.  I know some nonprofits can pay nice salaries, but that's a lot of cash.  Maybe she got an inheritance or invested wisely.  I liked her friend though.

I thought it was funny that this friend of someone from Punxsutawney said "Groundhog's Day."

I didn't like anything about her.  She looked a LOT older than 31, and I think it was because of all the makeup.  Plus he called her feisty and spunky, while all I saw was a dull affect, but I think that's because her eyebrows and forehead didn't move at all, I'm assuming from botox (at age 31!).  

She also described her $425,000 cash as "moderate savings" and said she has it because she doesn't always go out to the bars and coffee shops like he does.  But I'm guessing he doesn't spend god knows how much money on all that makeup they showed in her glam room, plus the clothes and shoes she mentioned.  And he said she's a "foodie" (ugh), so she might not go to bars and coffee shops but I'm guessing she goes to restaurants.

I call b.s. on the whole thing. 

Edited August 11, 2023 by StatisticalOutlier

[Crashcourse]

38 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I call b.s. on the whole thing. 

Yeah, so do I.  

[Mediocre Gatsby]

Charlotte: This was a little strange to me. Usually I'm all "the person being dragged for the move gets everything they want," but as someone upthread noted, does this guy even have a real job? All he talked about was how long it took him to make his man room. 

And they started out with them doing laundry and him saying he didn't remember having so many clothes to take care of 5 years ago. So they have a 5-year-old and he's never done the laundry, right. He also said that it would be fun to sit in one room and see the girls out in the pool outside while the adults had drinks. So also not really used to watching small children. I didn't care what they bought. 

Wilmington: I figured she'd bought the first one because it looked to me, from the size of the basement window, that there might be a substantial basement and yet they didn't look at it. Maybe she had already moved stuff there. Moving the kitchen sounded wacky. Coming from CA, I would never choose a place where you have to park on the street, so #3 was it for me. 

Another pet peeve of mine is bathrooms, even half baths, right off kitchens. I know with older homes you're lucky to get an extra bathroom wherever they could fit one in, but it creeps me out. 

[mojito]

11 hours ago, Mediocre Gatsby said:

Another pet peeve of mine is bathrooms, even half baths, right off kitchens. I know with older homes you're lucky to get an extra bathroom wherever they could fit one in, but it creeps me out. 

I'm fine with a bathroom off the kitchen. It doesn't have to be used during meal time. That leaves lots of hours during the day when it can be used, including the time when someone is in the kitchen cooking.

[chessiegal]

I also don't mind a toilet near the kitchen. We have one that gets used all the time. To my knowledge in the 13 years we've lived here, no one has died or gotten sick from germs mysteriously jumping out of the room and onto kitchen surfaces.

[cameron]

12 hours ago, Mediocre Gatsby said:

Charlotte: This was a little strange to me. Usually I'm all "the person being dragged for the move gets everything they want," but as someone upthread noted, does this guy even have a real job? All he talked about was how long it took him to make his man room. 

And they started out with them doing laundry and him saying he didn't remember having so many clothes to take care of 5 years ago. So they have a 5-year-old and he's never done the laundry, right. He also said that it would be fun to sit in one room and see the girls out in the pool outside while the adults had drinks. So also not really used to watching small children. I didn't care what they bought. 

Wilmington: I figured she'd bought the first one because it looked to me, from the size of the basement window, that there might be a substantial basement and yet they didn't look at it. Maybe she had already moved stuff there. Moving the kitchen sounded wacky. Coming from CA, I would never choose a place where you have to park on the street, so #3 was it for me. 

Another pet peeve of mine is bathrooms, even half baths, right off kitchens. I know with older homes you're lucky to get an extra bathroom wherever they could fit one in, but it creeps me out. 

Better than an outdoor toilet.

[cinsays]

2 hours ago, mojito said:

I'm fine with a bathroom off the kitchen. It doesn't have to be used during meal time. That leaves lots of hours during the day when it can be used, including the time when someone is in the kitchen cooking.

and you can close the door and put the exhaust fan on to help with any unpleasantness

1 hour ago, chessiegal said:

I also don't mind a toilet near the kitchen. We have one that gets used all the time. To my knowledge in the 13 years we've lived here, no one has died or gotten sick from germs mysteriously jumping out of the room and onto kitchen surfaces.

i would draw the line on some of the places that have the toilet in a little room but you have to use the kitchen sink........yeah, no

[CrazyInAlabama]

I hate a half bath that opens right next to the dining table, or right in the living room.  I guess it's better than not having a first floor bath or powder room, but it's still not my first choice.  

Another thing I don't like is the budgets on this show, one partner wants to be sensible, and buy a house they can afford, the other's story line is to demand they buy up to their approved dollar amount, leaving no room for a job change for one or both partners, some issue that screws up their income.  

Edited August 11, 2023 by CrazyInAlabama

[edie3]

On 8/10/2023 at 10:25 AM, mojito said:

you embrace the truth

Only if your island is quartz, not granite.

[mojito]

4 hours ago, edie3 said:

Only if your island is quartz, not granite.

Guess I'll have to gut the kitchen.

[CousinAmy]

"I need to see the children from the kitchen..." If they're toddlers, yes, keep an eagle eye on them. But do parents worry if the children are out of the line of sight inside the house? That's weird. What age is it acceptable for children to play in their own rooms, or in a playroom on another floor? 

[amarante]

18 minutes ago, CousinAmy said:

"I need to see the children from the kitchen..." If they're toddlers, yes, keep an eagle eye on them. But do parents worry if the children are out of the line of sight inside the house? That's weird. What age is it acceptable for children to play in their own rooms, or in a playroom on another floor? 

I think it is really baby and toddler stage because obviously children do play independently unless the parents are helicopter to an extraordinary degree.

Years ago the problem was solved because young kids were put in play pens and so the parents didn't need to watch them constantly. Child raising customs have changed and I don't think parents use play pens anymore as a way of not having to be in the same room as a crawling kid or a toddler. 

 

[pdlinda]

22 minutes ago, amarante said:

Child raising customs have changed and I don't think parents use play pens anymore as a way of not having to be in the same room as a crawling kid or a toddler. 

REALLY?  No play pens??  My youngest grandchild is 8 yrs old and my daughter always put her kids in a playpen when they were babies until they could walk. 

I wasn't aware that parents don't use playpens any longer.  My question is:  "WHY?"

[Mediocre Gatsby]

Pittsburgh lady - oh my gosh. I'm so impressed with someone who can save $425k! I could understand needing a place to recharge away from the noise of her apartment renters - it's 1:16 am and MY apartment neighbors are blaring music and being very loud. 

I really thought she might go for house 2 near the city, I noticed right away that you couldn't hear the street noise. For house 3 I liked that she didn't care so much about curb appeal (other than commenting that the house was turned around on its lot) - it was refreshing not to hear someone going on about how their friends and family would be so impressed. And that although she didn't like the gray of the bathroom, it all matched so she could probably live with it for a while. That lower level with the extra kitchen would make a great party room as well as room for people to stay. 

In the Gilbert AZ episode I learned that Craftsman houses have "masculine features." And how annoying it can be to hear someone go on and on about "flair." I thought that the wife was pretty enthusiastic about the houses that didn't match what she wanted, which led me to believe that she got house 2, the one she DID want. 

Location is the thing you can't change, and downtown Gilbert was where they both really wanted to be. When the husband said that they'd spent all of their youth working hard in grad school (and for such great careers) I had to agree that they deserved to have a fun place to spend at least a few years in. 

I always think, when people talk about buying a house where they can have all their kids grow up, that especially if it's a growing area, you just don't know what it will be like by the time you have school-age kids. I know it doesn't make financial sense to PLAN to buy a house for the short term, but it also seems chancy to assume that a house you buy will still be where you want to raise kids in maybe 10 years.

[cameron]

New Jersey wife needs to learn another word besides "wow".  She used it continually throughout the episode.

[edie3]

6 hours ago, cameron said:

New Jersey

That one kitchen looked like a morgue to me. And her vocal fry was irritating. 

[Crashcourse]

28 minutes ago, edie3 said:

That one kitchen looked like a morgue to me. And her vocal fry was irritating. 

I didn't even finish to see what house they chose because I couldn't stand the vocal fry. 

[pdlinda]

3 hours ago, edie3 said:

That one kitchen looked like a morgue to me. And her vocal fry was irritating. 

His "affected" speech tone and cadence was no better...it occurred to me that they were perfectly "matched" because I couldn't understand how "unaffected" alternative "mates" could have tolerated EITHER OF THEIR annoying voices!

Also, for whatever reason, I did give pause to her remark regarding "missing him" if their individual offices were not contiguous to the other and then brightening up to remark (paraphrase) "but soon we'll be back together." ☺️

[Thumper]

18 hours ago, pdlinda said:

REALLY?  No play pens??  My youngest grandchild is 8 yrs old and my daughter always put her kids in a playpen when they were babies until they could walk. 

I wasn't aware that parents don't use playpens any longer.  My question is:  "WHY?"

My kids are in their early 30’s and I don’t think I used a playpen with them.  I don’t recall having one.  I don’t know why. 🤷‍♀️

I have seen some young families set up an enclosed plastic fence-type system to keep the child in one area — similar to a playpen.  

Edited August 12, 2023 by Thumper

[StatisticalOutlier]

14 minutes ago, Thumper said:

I have seen some young families set up an enclosed plastic fence-type system to keep the child in one area — similar to a playpen.  

There's a photo of my two little brothers and me, ages probably about 4, 3, and 1, corralled in a (dry) blow-up wading pool in our living room.  The sides were maybe like a foot high.  We apparently weren't an ambitious lot.

[Orcinus orca]

I think people equate playpens with dog crates these days.  I beleive some sort of enclosed areas is way safer than wide open spaces and parents don't need to have an eye on kids 24/7.  That would drive me nuts.  And inevitably, it would be the one minute that the parent looks away that the kid swallows something or sticks a finger in a socket.

I am honestly amazed that "open concept" remains a thing.  Who wants to be watched all of the time especially when they reach a certain age.  Oh, I forgot, "bonus room" and "play room" are the places to escape the parents.  Unless, of course, they have intalled some sort of cameras.

Amazing to know I lived to adulthood without any of that crap.  Rooms with walls, played outside with neighborhood kids until the street lights came on.

Old, I am old.....

[Bastet]

I had no idea playpens were no longer standard parenting equipment, but this discussion got me curious and I found an article from almost 15 years ago about how they'd fallen out of favor.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I'm watching the recent reruns on HGTV this afternoon. Some episodes are very funny to me.   There are two attorneys on Long Island looking in Sea Cliff, NY, and in that area. 

She announces she grew up in a Victorian, and wants another Victorian.  Then they show a picture of her parents 'Victorian' home, and it's not even remotely a Victorian.  More of a farm house, if it's anything.   Actually it looks like a suburban cookie cutter 70's house to me. 

This is so funny, he wants to rip everything out, and she wants to keep everything as it is.  Then, she says as newlyweds it's important to compromise, then says "But I want what I want"   They need separate houses.  

Edited August 13, 2023 by CrazyInAlabama

[sskrill]

3 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I'm watching the recent reruns on HGTV this afternoon. Some episodes are very funny to me.   There are two attorneys on Long Island looking in Sea Cliff, NY, and in that area. 

She announces she grew up in a Victorian, and wants another Victorian.  Then they show a picture of her parents 'Victorian' home, and it's not even remotely a Victorian.  More of a farm house, if it's anything.   Actually it looks like a suburban cookie cutter 70's house to me. 

This is so funny, he wants to rip everything out, and she wants to keep everything as it is.  Then, she says as newlyweds it's important to compromise, then says "But I want what I want"   They need separate houses.  

I'm watching these 2 idiots right now.  Her childhood home was a colonial on steriods, but YES, nothing "victorian" about that home.  Such a know-it-all that seems to know very little.

At least twice in this episode they mentioned how they were trying to avoid tension in addition to "the tension of being newlyweds" ... I've never been married but I assumed the newlywed stage was the happiest .. not one filled with "tension".

She was a bully, he was a doormat.  Neighbors I would avoid, for sure.

 

[Mediocre Gatsby]

10 hours ago, edie3 said:

And her vocal fry was irritating. 

It really was, and his wasn't much better. 

I would love to have a house with that library. 

Edited August 13, 2023 by Mediocre Gatsby

[cinsays]

9 hours ago, sskrill said:

I'm watching these 2 idiots right now.  Her childhood home was a colonial on steriods, but YES, nothing "victorian" about that home.  Such a know-it-all that seems to know very little.

At least twice in this episode they mentioned how they were trying to avoid tension in addition to "the tension of being newlyweds" ... I've never been married but I assumed the newlywed stage was the happiest .. not one filled with "tension".

She was a bully, he was a doormat.  Neighbors I would avoid, for sure.

 

was athis the one where they were both litigation attorneys that work from home?

how does that work?

didn't like her, yeah, a bully

[cinsays]

watched the one with the sweet girl with the untalented rapper.  at least he will confine his music to the little closet... 

and he wanted to spend money, she wanted to be frugal so she could pay down her student loan.   he reasoned that buying a house that would gain equity would be a good way to do that..........only if you sell it

run sweet girl, run!

 

[Thumper]

Saturday night combined two-episode House Hunters, both looking for beach homes on islands.  HGTV’s David Bromstad offering pithy commentary.  Is this a regular thing?  I could do without him.  When did he get all the tattoos and beard?  I remember him from th competitive show he was on (won?) years ago, but haven’t watched any of the shows he hosts.

[Orcinus orca]

9 minutes ago, Thumper said:

 I remember him from th competitive show he was on (won?) years ago, but haven’t watched any of the shows he hosts.

He does that lottery homes show and appears to be covered head to toe with tattoos which are a major turn off to me. I can't stand to watch because of them not that I was particularly fond of him without them.

[CrazyInAlabama]

They're just combining two house hunt, either U.S. or International, with David as host, or Scott McGillivray hosting.   Don't know if they'll have other people hosting, but they're all reruns cobbled together, with the host.    They were doing this with two episodes on Mondays, with whatever theme the network slapped on them, so they would show as new.    Any time there's a HH episode for an hour, it's two episodes glued together.  

[cinsays]

1 hour ago, Thumper said:

Saturday night combined two-episode House Hunters, both looking for beach homes on islands.  HGTV’s David Bromstad offering pithy commentary.  Is this a regular thing?  I could do without him.  When did he get all the tattoos and beard?  I remember him from th competitive show he was on (won?) years ago, but haven’t watched any of the shows he hosts.

yeah, a little bit of david goes a long way

i thought he always had the tattoos

distracting

55 minutes ago, Orcinus orca said:

He does that lottery homes show and appears to be covered head to toe with tattoos which are a major turn off to me. I can't stand to watch because of them not that I was particularly fond of him without them.

i also don't like all the hugging he requires

[chessiegal]

When I saw the "new" HH was 2 episodes hosted by David, I gave it a pass.

[sskrill]

He's gotten more an more as the years have gone on.  I liked him back in the day but can barely tolerate him now.  I'm not anti tattoo but there are too many and they're ugly.  Also his wardrobe is tiresome.  I mean, its his life and body, but I don't have to tune in for it, and I don't.

6 hours ago, cinsays said:

was this the one where they were both litigation attorneys that work from home?

how does that work?

didn't like her, yeah, a bully

Yes, that was them.  He said later that he worked from home 3 days a week. I would imagine they must work in the office too.  Maybe they should just alternate days so they only need one office at home.  

That one house had a large basement and they kept saying it would be the kids play space. If it were me I would have subdivided the basement and made 2 small offices.  That way when I'm not working those spaces are out-of-sight-out-of-mind.

 

[Thumper]

Thanks for the David information.  I figured they were two old shows put together, but wondered about the extra commentary.

[Guest]

On 8/12/2023 at 6:59 PM, Bastet said:

had no idea playpens were no longer standard parenting equipment,

I think that the visual of this tragic movie concept in "Please don't eat the Daisies" single-handedly killed playpen usage:

 

  

[mojito]

4 hours ago, artisto said:

I think that the visual of this tragic movie concept in "Please don't eat the Daisies" single-handedly killed playpen usage:

Damn, you're old. (From someone who knows that the man is Jack Weston, former lead in "The Hathaways".)

Nowadays, toddlers can get on their iPads and YouTube "how to pick a lock".

I supposed having your kid tethered to a leash is out of favor, too.

Both good ideas. 

[Johannah]

6 minutes ago, mojito said:

... supposed having your kid tethered to a leash is out of favor, too.

Both good ideas. 

Damn.  Remember when everyone got in an uproar about that?  It's not like the "leash" was around the kid's neck.  Nowadays, I'd rather see a kid tethered than get another Amber Alert on my phone.

I'm really behind on my HH viewing.  Maybe I'll just delete the one hour "new" episodes.

[chessiegal]

Last night's "new" episodes were repackaged Beachfront Bargain Hunt shows that I hadn't seen before so that was okay with me.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I don't watch the one hour, pasted together episodes they advertise as new.   I also skip the ones that are actually bargain hunts, retitled as HH or HHI ones.   They also reused Hawaii episodes on regular HH, and get extra mileage from the same episode.     They also took bargain hunt ones and HHI and aired them again as Mexico, Bahamas or Caribbean series too.   Sneaky way to get more advertiser money for airing an old episode as new under another series name.   

A lot of the HHI and Mexico series, seem to be ads for the city, so I wonder how many of the house hunters are actually investors?   And how many are part of the sales group for the resorts? 

 

Edited August 15, 2023 by CrazyInAlabama

[CousinAmy]

Sea Cliff is a very expensive little village so I'm surprised they expected to pay $800K. But you get what you pay for. The first house, which they chose, was just a brick Cape Cod, nothing Tudor there. You could see from the outside shot that there is no backyard- the only yard is on the side and I couldn't tell how big it was. 

Sometimes I wonder why they only see three houses, because each has at least one deal-breaker feature. But then I remember that these are actually the homes they've already chosen, so I hope they're happy. 

And sometimes I wonder why these two people are even thinking of buying a house together, when they often seem so mismatched. But then I remember that these are the people they've already chosen, so I hope they're happy.

 

 

[Orcinus orca]

30 minutes ago, CousinAmy said:

But then I remember that these are actually the homes they've already chosen, so I hope they're happy. 

I always wonder, too, if they are upset with what they chose after seeing other great options.  They probably weren't available at the time they made the purchase but all the same....

[chessiegal]

They look at 3 houses because that's what they can fit into 22 minutes.

[Crashcourse]

Never mind.

Edited August 14, 2023 by Crashcourse

[Notabug]

4 hours ago, Orcinus orca said:

I always wonder, too, if they are upset with what they chose after seeing other great options.  They probably weren't available at the time they made the purchase but all the same....

Many times, the other homes aren't available at the time the episode is filmed, either.  Several househunters who talked about it after the fact said that the producers used homes of family and friends to film as options for the episode.  Homes that weren't for sale at all.