House Hunters - General Discussion

[CrazyInAlabama]

I think they've used short term rentals for filming too, as decoys.

They're showing a bunch of reruns on HGTV this morning.   The Long Island episode from 2021 is bizarre.   The wife demands a lot of upscale finishes, but doesn't want to pay for them, and when she argues with fiance, she actually walks away on the third house.   "Making the Leap on Long Island" was certainly different.  He wants a pool, but would rather pay less now for a house, and spend way over budget to put in a pool later.  It makes no sense.   

The first house has everything, but the only tub in the fully finished basement is a deal breaker for bathing their baby.   That house has a pool for him, and she's whining about the $500k price. 

But at the next house that's a lot less, she wants both bathrooms redone, and with him putting an in-ground pool in, and that's going to be a ton more to do that.  She wants to redo the bathrooms again.   

The third house woman trashes everything, walks away, and keeps saying the house is too small.   For me the deal breaker would be the size of the kitchen, and the step down from kitchen to the back door, and the narrow stairs to the basement.    She whines about the laundry in the basement.  Is there even a bathroom in the finshed basement?   I don't understand how she demands a first floor tub for the baby, but wants to put the playroom in the basement.    

They bought #1, and she's still whining about tearing out the first floor tile for hardwoods.     I hope they fenced the pool for safety. 

Edited August 15, 2023 by CrazyInAlabama

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 8/14/2023 at 6:59 AM, artisto said:

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

That's the kid who the only thing I think he ever said was "CoKEE CoLA!" (I actually say it that way myself every once in a while, and nobody ever recognizes it.)

And to be fair, that setup wasn't necessarily overkill for him.  I haven't seen the movie in years, but I think they'd tried everything else and he always got out.  Of course none of this would be necessary if they just had an open concept layout.

Off topic:  Seeing that lock reminds me of one of my favorite anecdotes of all time.  Calvin Trillin was on Johnny Carson talking about battling raccoons and how he started putting a combination lock on his garbage cans because raccoons are clever, "but they're not good with figures."

[Orcinus orca]

1 minute ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

That's the kid who the only thing I think he ever said was "CoKEE CoLA!" (I actually say it that way myself every once in a while, and nobody ever recognizes it.)

Oh, good, I thought I was the only one!

[CousinAmy]

6 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

 

But at the next house that's a lot less, she wants both bathrooms redone, and with him putting an in-ground pool in, and that's going to be a ton more to do that.  She wants to redo the bathrooms again.   

The third house woman trashes everything, walks away, and keeps saying the house is too small.   For me the deal breaker would be the size of the kitchen, and the step down from kitchen to the back door, and the narrow stairs to the basement.    She whines about the laundry in the basement.  Is there even a bathroom in the finshed basement?   I don't understand how she demands a first floor tub for the baby, but wants to put the playroom in the basement.    

They bought #1, and she's still whining about tearing out the first floor tile for hardwoods.     I hope they fenced the pool for safety. 

Wasn't the second house a split level? I grew up in a split-level (built in 1955) and they are definitely roomy. I guess it looks too suburban for her taste? I will take 1950s roominess over a smallish Cape Cod. 

[laredhead]

No one has commented yet on the double episodes last night where young women were bringing their fathers along to give advice, and in one instance, finance the house, so I'll start off the discussion.

The first one was a woman and her boyfriend (long term but not yet formally engaged), who kept reminding us throughout the episode that she was the buyer, her name would be on the mortgage, and her opinion was going to be the most important.  My first clue that this was going to be an interesting episode was during the introductory remarks when they said they had 2 dogs, and were living in a 1 bedroom high rise apartment. They said they thought they had bought a golden doodle with one of the dogs, but found out when they had his DNA run that he was an Australian shepherd.  Now, I'm not a dog expert, but I could tell just by looking at that dog that he was NOT and never could have been mistaken for a golden doodle.   I immediately felt sorry for the high energy dogs being in a 1 bedroom apartment.  The woman didn't care about realistic stuff, she wanted modern, glam, flash, etc., and her excuse was that she is a millennial.  She wanted a smooth top electric range because it looks nice, not because of the cooking ability, but the boyfriend wanted a gas range because he is the one who cooks.  He did say she had cooked some pizza rolls.  Her dad did point out some things about each house that could be expensive to fix, like the bouncy floor and rotten wood in one house.  I did not totally agree with his belief that a large tree needed to be removed, when it looked like maybe just trimming a large branch over the house would suffice.  Shade is a benefit in Georgia I would think.  Of course, they both wanted a yard for their high energy dogs to run in, but the boyfriend made a couple of comments about having to mow and clean gutters, etc.  Yes, that comes with ownership of a house, unless you pay someone else to do it for you.  He looked young and healthy enough to do those things, but I think they probably would have cut into their walking to coffee shops time or something like that.  However, he did say he grew up in the country and wanted a large yard, so by the end of the episode I couldn't figure out what either of them wanted.  They bought house #1 which didn't have any furniture in it - dead give away. He got a gas range, they got 2 walk in closets for all of their clothes, and the dogs got a yard.  I guess it was a win, but there was no carport or garage which I think is important.

The second episode featured a woman in Charlotte, N.C. who was a year out of college and she said she was a personal trainer.  She had been living at her parents' house to save money, and had convinced her father that he should buy her an abode and she would pay him rent.  She said she couldn't buy a house because she had no rental history, etc. and couldn't get a loan.  The father was evidently looking to the future and a good ROI when she moved on to something else - if ever.  She also had a big dog, and I believe it was a golden retriever, so she wanted green space for the dog to go outside.  She was going to have to find a roommate to help with the rent payment if she had chose 2 of the 3 places she looked at.  The 3rd place was a loft conversion of an old factory.  It was small, maybe 900 sf?  The father wasn't thrilled with the part of town it was in, and there was no yard for the dog.  It was the least expensive of the 3.  The primary bedroom was upstairs, and I don't think the dog could get up the stairs because they were wood.  I guess some fixed carpet treads could be placed on each step to help the dog climb them.  She didn't want a roommate, she liked the loft concept, and evidently the yard for the dog went by the wayside because she chose #3.  Dad came around, but was laying down some firm rules about rent being paid on time, or interest would be charged.  Wonder how that worked out?

Long post, I know, but I was shaking my head so hard at the end of both of these episodes.  I really didn't care what happened to either of these women, I just felt sorry for the dogs.

 

[cinsays]

38 minutes ago, laredhead said:

No one has commented yet on the double episodes last night where young women were bringing their fathers along to give advice, and in one instance, finance the house, so I'll start off the discussion.

The first one was a woman and her boyfriend (long term but not yet formally engaged), who kept reminding us throughout the episode that she was the buyer, her name would be on the mortgage, and her opinion was going to be the most important.  My first clue that this was going to be an interesting episode was during the introductory remarks when they said they had 2 dogs, and were living in a 1 bedroom high rise apartment. They said they thought they had bought a golden doodle with one of the dogs, but found out when they had his DNA run that he was an Australian shepherd.  Now, I'm not a dog expert, but I could tell just by looking at that dog that he was NOT and never could have been mistaken for a golden doodle.   I immediately felt sorry for the high energy dogs being in a 1 bedroom apartment.  The woman didn't care about realistic stuff, she wanted modern, glam, flash, etc., and her excuse was that she is a millennial.  She wanted a smooth top electric range because it looks nice, not because of the cooking ability, but the boyfriend wanted a gas range because he is the one who cooks.  He did say she had cooked some pizza rolls.  Her dad did point out some things about each house that could be expensive to fix, like the bouncy floor and rotten wood in one house.  I did not totally agree with his belief that a large tree needed to be removed, when it looked like maybe just trimming a large branch over the house would suffice.  Shade is a benefit in Georgia I would think.  Of course, they both wanted a yard for their high energy dogs to run in, but the boyfriend made a couple of comments about having to mow and clean gutters, etc.  Yes, that comes with ownership of a house, unless you pay someone else to do it for you.  He looked young and healthy enough to do those things, but I think they probably would have cut into their walking to coffee shops time or something like that.  However, he did say he grew up in the country and wanted a large yard, so by the end of the episode I couldn't figure out what either of them wanted.  They bought house #1 which didn't have any furniture in it - dead give away. He got a gas range, they got 2 walk in closets for all of their clothes, and the dogs got a yard.  I guess it was a win, but there was no carport or garage which I think is important.

The second episode featured a woman in Charlotte, N.C. who was a year out of college and she said she was a personal trainer.  She had been living at her parents' house to save money, and had convinced her father that he should buy her an abode and she would pay him rent.  She said she couldn't buy a house because she had no rental history, etc. and couldn't get a loan.  The father was evidently looking to the future and a good ROI when she moved on to something else - if ever.  She also had a big dog, and I believe it was a golden retriever, so she wanted green space for the dog to go outside.  She was going to have to find a roommate to help with the rent payment if she had chose 2 of the 3 places she looked at.  The 3rd place was a loft conversion of an old factory.  It was small, maybe 900 sf?  The father wasn't thrilled with the part of town it was in, and there was no yard for the dog.  It was the least expensive of the 3.  The primary bedroom was upstairs, and I don't think the dog could get up the stairs because they were wood.  I guess some fixed carpet treads could be placed on each step to help the dog climb them.  She didn't want a roommate, she liked the loft concept, and evidently the yard for the dog went by the wayside because she chose #3.  Dad came around, but was laying down some firm rules about rent being paid on time, or interest would be charged.  Wonder how that worked out?

Long post, I know, but I was shaking my head so hard at the end of both of these episodes.  I really didn't care what happened to either of these women, I just felt sorry for the dogs.

 

agreed and i felt sorry for the guy in the first one and the father in the second

didn't like either of the gals

[laredhead]

Cinsays, not sure if I feel sorry for the boyfriend in the first one.  Evidently they have been a couple for several years, so he knows what she's like.  He might want to think twice before buying a ring though if he really is a country boy at heart.  She will probably never let him forget that she bought and is paying for that house, even though I think something was said about him contributing to expenses.

[Grizzly]

Minneapolis, MN. Engaged guys looking for a house. I really enjoyed their relationship. They were always briefly touching each other that conveyed affection. We believe that they are a couple, unlike some of the other HHers. Can't believe they took the 1 bath. The split level seemed perfect.

[Hedgehog2022]

5 hours ago, laredhead said:

Cinsays, not sure if I feel sorry for the boyfriend in the first one.  Evidently they have been a couple for several years, so he knows what she's like.  He might want to think twice before buying a ring though if he really is a country boy at heart.  She will probably never let him forget that she bought and is paying for that house, even though I think something was said about him contributing to expenses.

The boyfriend in the first one seemed awfully young...certainly younger than the girlfriend. She seemed like a daddy's girl and was used to getting her way. 

[Mediocre Gatsby]

Minneapolis. I made the mistake of watching HHI first, so I saw the end of this show and knew which house they had chosen. Rookie mistake! Like Grizzly, I think the split level would have been better. If it was me, I'd definitely use a deck more if I didn't have to go outside to get to it. And that airport noise!

Even the rambler had the two bathrooms and enough other spaces, though the kitchen was small. 

I have friends who are teachers and friends with kids who are teachers, and I guess I feel (though I don't know how long Brett had been working) that they might have stayed closer to where he was teaching now, and upgrade when he has enough experience to be in a permanent job. Teachers spent so much extra time at work, that a longer commute seems unnecessary to me. I know House 2 was far away from their friends, but Brett has to make that commute two times a day. They're not seeing their friends that often. 

They were a fun couple, though. I worry a little that the person who makes more money got everything he wanted. 

[snarts]

Minneapolis, MN: Also surprised they chose the the 1 bathroom option, especially since it looked be the smallest, in the worst neighborhood, furthest from work, yard sucked, etc. The other two options both appeared to work better for them.

It was interesting to see Janelle (Big Brother) pop up as their realtor!!

[Orcinus orca]

9 hours ago, Grizzly said:

The split level seemed perfect.

Especially since they paid way over their limit for the little bungalow. They could have had split level for $35,000 less. But, of course, we know this is all staged anyway.

[cinsays]

10 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Minneapolis, MN. Engaged guys looking for a house. I really enjoyed their relationship. They were always briefly touching each other that conveyed affection. We believe that they are a couple, unlike some of the other HHers. Can't believe they took the 1 bath. The split level seemed perfect.

yeah and was that the one that they had to go outside and around the front to get to the deck in back? unless they put a slider in the room facing the deck that would be awfully awkward

[amarante]

I understand the logistics but sometimes the house they chose is really awful functionally. I can deal with outdated but certain things would be a deal breaker like bedrooms on a floor with no bathroom or stairs that are so narrow or low yu have to stoop. I also would never live on the ground floor or a basement level.

So I look at the home they chose and think I would have just continued to look because eventually there would have to be something that was a better fit. 

The other thing I wonder about is when the HH Is looking for a condo and they are shown a unit in a great location  but  they are shown the penthouse which is bit out of their budget. Why not get a unit on a floor below and then you wouid be on budget. 

Edited August 16, 2023 by amarante

[CrazyInAlabama]

I was surprised they chose the one bathroom option, even though they claim they're putting in another bathroom some day, either upstairs, or the basement.   I think they chose #1 because that's where they lived when they met, and they lived there with the airport noise, and the commute already. 

Maybe the teacher has plans to transfer to a school much closer to the house?   If he does, I can see him not announcing that on TV.     I wonder if they're going to put a half bath upstairs, another full one in the basement, and put in egress windows.    Or they'll put a half bath upstairs and a big main suite addition on the back, with a new deck.  

[rhofmovalley]

I thought it was funny when they said they had to come in with an aggressive offer because there had been a lot of interest and offers, and their final purchase price was...$5k over asking. My brother had to go about $35k over asking to get his house. $5k is what, a couple dollars a month added to the mortgage payment?

Edited August 16, 2023 by rhofmovalley

[Mediocre Gatsby]

7 hours ago, snarts said:

It was interesting to see Janelle (Big Brother) pop up as their realtor!!

It was!

5 hours ago, cinsays said:

yeah and was that the one that they had to go outside and around the front to get to the deck in back? unless they put a slider in the room facing the deck that would be awfully awkward

The deck was off the kitchen; the facing wall was the one with the sink and windows above it. 

[amarante]

On 8/11/2023 at 7:17 PM, 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 post was in terms of why people want open floor plans so they can watch their toddlers.

Homes until fairly recently did not have open floor plans so it would be impossible for a parent to watch a child if they were in the kitchen - for example. You could have the child in the living room and know that they weren't going to crawl or get into trouble because they were confined.

Obviously they still sell playpens but it appears that many parents want free range children and the ability to watch them at all times which is why you get so many people who talk about the need to watch their children from the kitchen.

 

[cameron]

That realtor in Minneapolis really had some botched face work done along with very obvious body augmentation work.

 

Edited August 17, 2023 by cameron

[CrazyInAlabama]

The 'have to see the kids' is just an excuse to have an open concept.   A lot of the ones who demand that want a playroom, and often it's upstairs, or the basement, or separated from the living space anyway.    I bet the people we see on this show are the ones who let their kids run wild, never confine them, have toys strewn through playrooms, and the rest of the toys and stuff are in the kid's bedroom.   I bet a lot are doint the gentle parenting thing, morphed into never limiting anything their kids do.  

I think the kids running wild is why the HH Family episodes were such a flop, with kids demanding what they wanted, and supposedly picking the house as a family.   

That's why the second the family episodes used to come on, I turned it off. 

I want to see houses, not screaming kids.   I turn off the ones with arguing couples too.    I remember reading an article about the where are they now, with followups, and the reason the producers only did a few was because most of the couples split, or sold, and were flipping the house, so not enough people who were still in the home, actually changed anything, and were still together. 

That's one thing I didn't like about the HH Reno show, almost everything was one person's ideas, and the other partner was mowed down by the dominant partner.     

That's why I liked the Minneapolis episode with the teacher and partner, they acted like one was getting his way, but I suspect the backstory was the teacher was moving schools closer, and they were happy with the neighborhood for their friends, and amenities being close.    

The Bay Minette area house hunt was interesting.   How do two youth and pre-teen pastors afford a house at $350k and up, plus renos?  My guess is mom and dad are paying at least the down payment and probably more.  Why are the couples talking like they will live in the town forever?  If either wants to move up the church hierarchy and pay scale, they may not be able to get jobs in the same location, or even move up.   

The first house in Laxley, wasn't quirky like the husband said, it was hideous.   3 bedrooms was big, but wife demands a fouth bedroom.  Who buys a brick house, claims it will need major renos, and then want to spend $7k painting the brick?  The husband grossly overstated his ability to do anything to fix it.   I'm guessing wife's father will finance everything that needs done.   The kitchen wallpaper and countertops were awful, the bathroom wallpaper was even worse, with the tiny shower in the toilet room, and the giant red tub was awful.   You can't paint the plastic tub either, like the husband said. Backyard was big, but does the husband know if the hedge is joint property line?   Neighbors may not be on board with joint hedges going away, and don't have to pay for a fence they don't want (Alabama fence law doesn't let you put up a fence, and force the neighbor to pay for it).  

Second house-Bay Minette, 2 minutes to work for wife, not husband's job though. $279,900. Looks like vinyl exterior.  House had 4 bedrooms, is a sideways Dutch Colonial main house, with a living area one story.   He says brick floor in the entry makes him think castle.  Carpet needs major cleaning, and is way too light to stay clean with the soil down here.   Kitchen is big, needs refaced cabinets, stone countertops, and a back splash redo eventually.   Room is huge, all fenced, She wants chickens, did she look at zoning?   Many places don't allow chickens, or at least roosters.   House needs similar flooring, I suggest LVP.  primary bedroom is nice size, closet is medium size.  Other three bedrooms, and guest bath are fine.    Family room is nice, living room is huge.  He says bedrooms are too small. 

Third house-Fairhope, where he works, long commute for the wife.  New build, $338k, 4 bed 2 bath, open family/kitchen/dining.  single story Wife doesn't like the granite, she says it's too speckled.   guest bath is nice, main suite is nice.   4th bedroom will be son's playroom.  LVP everywhere. Split bedroom plan.  Primary suite is lovely, huge closet, ensuite is nice.  No fence on the yard, and it backs up to private property.   

They bought #3.     In the area of Alabama where the are, I wouldn't buy anything but all brick exterior, so number 1 for me.     

 

 

Edited August 17, 2023 by CrazyInAlabama

[Orcinus orca]

42 minutes ago, cameron said:

That realtor in Minneapolis really had some botched face work done along with very obvious body augmentation work.

 

I couldn't pay attention to the program while I was mesmerized by those humongous lips.

[Crashcourse]

8 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

The Bay Minette area house hunt was interesting.   How do two youth and pre-teen pastors afford a house at $350k and up, plus renos? 

I thought he was a "regular" pastor and she was a pre-teen pastor, but maybe I missed hearing he was a youth pastor.   I wonder how much they make to afford that house?

[CrazyInAlabama]

51 minutes ago, Crashcourse said:

I thought he was a "regular" pastor and she was a pre-teen pastor, but maybe I missed hearing he was a youth pastor.   I wonder how much they make to afford that house?

He was a pre-teen pastor, the wife was a children's and youth pastor.  

[Crashcourse]

55 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

He was a pre-teen pastor, the wife was a children's and youth pastor.  

Ok, thanks.  I still wonder about salaries.

[snarts]

St Louis, MO: hated the townhouse she chose. Can't even fathom the renovation costs. Plus, it was the only option with no yard for her pup. That can't be renovated. Obvious that location was her only real consideration.

[Orcinus orca]

6 minutes ago, snarts said:

St Louis, MO: hated the townhouse she chose. Can't even fathom the renovation costs. Plus, it was the only option with no yard for her pup. That can't be renovated. Obvious that location was her only real consideration.

That entitled brat got on my last nerve. Of course she didn't care about renovations, they are all assigned to her dad for free.  And she essentially wanted the entire place gutted and estimated, what, $10-20K?  That won't get you a nice kitchen with all new everything plus taking down a wall.  And bitching about a kitchen that she never uses.  I bet she's daddy's little girl.  

Her vocal fry made me hit mute and go to closed captioning.

Mom and sister really had her number.  All of the blathering about the dog and she picked the worst place for him.  

I bet daddy has done and redone all of the chores more than once. She will never be satisfied.

[Mediocre Gatsby]

11 hours ago, cameron said:

That realtor in Minneapolis really had some botched face work done along with very obvious body augmentation work.

 

She's Janelle Pierzina, a reality TV show "star," she's done some Big Brothers and The Amazing Race. 

Pastor couples in Alabama:

10 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Who buys a brick house, claims it will need major renos, and then want to spend $7k painting the brick? 

I thought that was such a pretty house; I can't think of any house where the brick was in such bad condition that I'd want to paint it, let alone just painting it for the color change. 

It wasn't until the very end that the wife mentioned that the house they bought was 10 minutes from her parents. That's a big deal. Like one of the Minnesota guys, the husband wants to be close to all their friends. That, plus the "fantasy" house talk, made him seem younger than what he probably is. Whether it's justified or not, I'm picturing never-finished projects all over their house. Like there was no way he was going to be able to paint that one bathtub. 

My best friend lives about an hour and a half from work; in the old days she used to have to drive it most days. Their house was within walking distance of her husband's work. She loved it. She drove about 45 miles and then took light-rail into her job. Plenty of time to relax and reflect. Meanwhile, her husband was the one getting their kids ready for school, picking them up in emergencies, etc. 

[laredhead]

I just watched the Fairhope episode.  Good grief, if that husband can do all of those projects more power to him, but I wonder if he's ever done much DIY.  You don't paint a bathtub, and if you want it done correctly, you should hire a professional.  Painting a brick house is a no-no in my book.  Again, unless you know what you are doing, leave that to the professionals.  Wrong type of paint, or wrong technique, and you can end up with a mess that will cost you a lot of $$ to fix.  Also, once you paint brick, you can't undo it unless  you sand blast the hell out of it, and then that might not work either.  I think he over estimated his abilities.  I wouldn't call the back yard of the house they bought beautiful.  Oh, and he's going to build the fence for it.  That man must have a lot of spare time.  I had to laugh at the house with 7 different types of flooring.  It was sort of like you could tell in what decade each was installed.  

At least the couple didn't bicker, and snipe at each other about each other's desires in a house.  Overall, it was sort of a blah episode with the least interesting house as the "winner". 

 

[Grizzly]

Waterfront in Parker, Arizona. Didn't see that coming. Scott swallowed hard when she said 2 million. House #1 was pretty dated and the neighborhood was quite congested. #2 was a good size in  a good location.  The tile in the kitchen was not psychedelic but it was too much. Glad they were able to overlook it to get a great house.

[Mediocre Gatsby]

St. Louis. "This is a dealbreaker," she says about the condo she chose. Her poor dog with no yard access. And her litany of changes at the end, which she thought she'd get for $25k. 

No wonder her mother and sister didn't try very hard to get her to stay close to them. 

[cameron]

11 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Waterfront in Parker, Arizona. Didn't see that coming. Scott swallowed hard when she said 2 million. House #1 was pretty dated and the neighborhood was quite congested. #2 was a good size in  a good location.  The tile in the kitchen was not psychedelic but it was too much. Glad they were able to overlook it to get a great house.

The wife's "valley girl" speech pattern was a little too much.  Guess they didn't mind living across from a RV park in choosing this house. After doing street view of the location; understand why the realtor took them around by boat instead of car.  

 

Edited August 18, 2023 by cameron

[cinsays]

6 hours ago, Mediocre Gatsby said:

St. Louis. "This is a dealbreaker," she says about the condo she chose. Her poor dog with no yard access. And her litany of changes at the end, which she thought she'd get for $25k. 

No wonder her mother and sister didn't try very hard to get her to stay close to them. 

i don't know condo rules, but couldn't she have modified the deck to have a few steps down to the ground?   why would you have a deck with no ground access anyway? 

[CrazyInAlabama]

36 minutes ago, cinsays said:

i don't know condo rules, but couldn't she have modified the deck to have a few steps down to the ground?   why would you have a deck with no ground access anyway? 

I've seen a lot of condos, or townhouses that have a back deck and no access to the ground.   I'm betting that the rules don't allow stairs from the deck.   

[StatisticalOutlier]

Roku shows some old seasons of This Old House, and I just watched one from the first season, in 1979, and thought of House Hunters.  Bob Vila is showing off the new kitchen--a  kitchen in a separate room, with red plastic laminate countertops and dark brown wood cabinets and drawers that are smooth faced with no pulls.  But it's not finished--they have yet to add matching red plastic laminate that will cover the soffit above the cabinets.

White appliances, including a trash compactor and a 16-cubic-foot refrigerator freezer that doesn't open into the room (come on, This Old House!).

Let's just say Bob's reaction, as well as the appraiser's, is a little bit different from today's HHs. 

Which makes me wonder what people's reactions to today's kitchens will be in 40 years.  Granite/quartz countertops seems to have some real staying power, but they probably thought the same thing about Formica.

[Hedgehog2022]

22 hours ago, Mediocre Gatsby said:

She's Janelle Pierzina, a reality TV show "star," she's done some Big Brothers and The Amazing Race. 

Pastor couples in Alabama:

I thought that was such a pretty house; I can't think of any house where the brick was in such bad condition that I'd want to paint it, let alone just painting it for the color change. 

It wasn't until the very end that the wife mentioned that the house they bought was 10 minutes from her parents. That's a big deal. Like one of the Minnesota guys, the husband wants to be close to all their friends. That, plus the "fantasy" house talk, made him seem younger than what he probably is. Whether it's justified or not, I'm picturing never-finished projects all over their house. Like there was no way he was going to be able to paint that one bathtub. 

My best friend lives about an hour and a half from work; in the old days she used to have to drive it most days. Their house was within walking distance of her husband's work. She loved it. She drove about 45 miles and then took light-rail into her job. Plenty of time to relax and reflect. Meanwhile, her husband was the one getting their kids ready for school, picking them up in emergencies, etc. 

I used to live in Minneapolis and she did not look like a Minnesota native AT ALL!!!!  YIKES!

 

23 hours ago, Orcinus orca said:

That entitled brat got on my last nerve. Of course she didn't care about renovations, they are all assigned to her dad for free.  And she essentially wanted the entire place gutted and estimated, what, $10-20K?  That won't get you a nice kitchen with all new everything plus taking down a wall.  And bitching about a kitchen that she never uses.  I bet she's daddy's little girl.  

Her vocal fry made me hit mute and go to closed captioning.

Mom and sister really had her number.  All of the blathering about the dog and she picked the worst place for him.  

I bet daddy has done and redone all of the chores more than once. She will never be satisfied.

Agree with everything you said...what a spoiled, entitled princess.

[Hedgehog2022]

11 hours ago, cameron said:

The wife's "valley girl" speech pattern was a little too much.  Guess they didn't mind living across from a RV park in choosing this house. After doing street view of the location; understand why the realtor took them around by boat instead of car.  

 

OMG! She was insuffrable...I missed the introduction about these two. Looked like this was his second (or third) marriage? She kept talking about their grandson...no way she's the bio grandma. She certainly had no qualms about spending lots of $$$ on renos and more square footage.

[CrazyInAlabama]

The Dallas house hunters on the new episode tonight.   His budget is so reasonable, but he won't get what the couple demand for that price, with the location they want, and the size and finishes.   His budget is $420k, 

First home is nice, a new build, but a two story, with a high price tag, and very close to the neighbors.   It's also the most distance from his work.    I'm betting in a few years she'll want something bigger, and closer to her parents, and more distance from neighbors.   I'm guessing the neighbors will quickly get tired of her 'drama' about being 'obsessed' and her other instagram and influencer garbage.     I hope there's never a job change or other financial issues, or that house may be history.    

The second home is modern, and lovely inside, $525k.  However, the second floor balcony is long, but not wide enough to be usuable.   The wife keeps complaining it's on a corner, but it's not.   There is a building lot between the house and the corner, so I can only imaging how much whining they would do when someone builds right next to them.   

Third house is lovely, a redone two story, that looks like a ranch, but has a couple of big bedrooms and bath upstairs. She's whining about the living room not fitting their humongous couch. $464k.  First floor main bedroom and ensuite, but ensuite is small, and first floor has a bedroom for their future baby. There is a second floor with the third bedroom she wants to make into a game room with a putting green, and the fourth bedroom.   Back yard is smaller, but fully fenced.   She loves the kitchen.  It looks like LVP first floor, and second floor has carpet.  Stairs seem very steep.  

They buy #1.   

Edited August 19, 2023 by CrazyInAlabama

[chessiegal]

The Dallas wife was "obsessed" "literally". 🙄

[Mediocre Gatsby]

Dallas, I was SURE they'd go for House 3, 15 minutes from his work and yet still a lot of what she wanted, with lots of money left in their budget to make changes. House 1 - why? The purpose of going way out into the suburbs was to save money, and it was the most expensive. 

I kept rolling my eyes at him wanting the primary bedroom on the bottom floor. You'll be heading up those stairs every night with kids, buddy. 

Especially in his field, selling medical devices, which a friend of mine also does, I would have gone with House 2 or 3, close to work, because there's a good chance that they won't be living there by the time their kids are old enough to socialize with neighbors. But she was lamenting not having family nearby, so if she finds solace in neighbors, that's what was important, I guess. 

eta: I just finally got a tv package that includes HH and HHI, after years of just having over-the-air channels, and I just want to say how much the input of all of you adds to my enjoyment of these shows. I'd forgotten that. (Hoping this doesn't amount to the old TWoP "boards on boards" violation.)

Edited August 19, 2023 by Mediocre Gatsby

[Vivigirl10]

In my lifetime of watching House Hunters, I've never had a featured house be one I actually knew!  The St. Louis episode, oh my, I had such a hard time watching it.  So many bold face untruths about the location of the homes.  Why the need to lie?  Unnecessary drama that didn't even matter?

Chesterfield and Ballwin both are in West County (suburbs of St. Louis).  There is barely a way to distinguish the two.  You can be in Ballwin one second, cross an imaginary line and be in Chesterfield.  There is absolutely no "commute time" to get from one to another.  They bleed into each other.  So the whining and complaining from Mom and Sister (and the homebuyer) that she was so tragically far away is just a total lie.  Why not just say that they'd prefer she be a few blocks away and stay in Ballwin?  It was just so stupid.

Second, the homebuyer tried to present Chesterfield as the hipper place for a young, single woman to live!  Are you kidding?  Neither Chesterfield or Ballwin fit that bill.  Go to Clayton or the Central West End for that.  West County is a bunch of families, middle aged couples and retirees.  It is the textbook definition of suburbia (which made me choke when she said at the end she wasn't ready for that.  And yet that's exactly where she was).  Certainly not saying that single people don't live here - plenty to do and you can seek out alternatives closer to downtown.  But Chesterfield hedges out Ballwin by being the older, wealthier and stodgier of the two locations, if you really get down to it.  The real reason for her preference for Chesterfield is probably trying to find a sugar Daddy.

I pass the third, single family home on my way to and from work every day.  My house is about 4 blocks away.  It's a wonderful, safe neighborhood, only about 20 minutes to get downtown.  The house they looked at is really pretty. The street kind of stinks because everyone uses it as a cut through and neighbors constantly park on the street.  I remember when they had the open house and it was "under contract" the next day.  Pretty typical for around here.

Anyway, I thought all three women were shrews.  Seemed pretty nasty and generally not a whole lot of fun.  Feel bad for the Dad.  

 

[chessiegal]

I saw a house once I knew. It was in New Orleans and across the street from my stepdaughter's house.

[cameron]

On 8/18/2023 at 10:29 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

The Dallas house hunters on the new episode tonight.   His budget is so reasonable, but he won't get what the couple demand for that price, with the location they want, and the size and finishes.   His budget is $420k, 

First home is nice, a new build, but a two story, with a high price tag, and very close to the neighbors.   It's also the most distance from his work.    I'm betting in a few years she'll want something bigger, and closer to her parents, and more distance from neighbors.   I'm guessing the neighbors will quickly get tired of her 'drama' about being 'obsessed' and her other instagram and influencer garbage.     I hope there's never a job change or other financial issues, or that house may be history.    

The second home is modern, and lovely inside, $525k.  However, the second floor balcony is long, but not wide enough to be usuable.   The wife keeps complaining it's on a corner, but it's not.   There is a building lot between the house and the corner, so I can only imaging how much whining they would do when someone builds right next to them.   

Third house is lovely, a redone two story, that looks like a ranch, but has a couple of big bedrooms and bath upstairs. She's whining about the living room not fitting their humongous couch. $464k.  First floor main bedroom and ensuite, but ensuite is small, and first floor has a bedroom for their future baby. There is a second floor with the third bedroom she wants to make into a game room with a putting green, and the fourth bedroom.   Back yard is smaller, but fully fenced.   She loves the kitchen.  It looks like LVP first floor, and second floor has carpet.  Stairs seem very steep.  

They buy #1.   

Thought they were a really mismatched couple.  Wonder how long that marriage will last.

[amarante]

On 8/18/2023 at 7:18 AM, CrazyInAlabama said:

I've seen a lot of condos, or townhouses that have a back deck and no access to the ground.   I'm betting that the rules don't allow stairs from the deck.   

It is odd but I imagine it has to do with the HOA being responsible for taking care of the "lawns". If they had steps people would probably start placing furniture, grills and other stuff that would make it hard to efficiently mow the lawn,

My parents lived in a ground floor condo unit when they retired. They had a very small enclosed area that was tiled like a patio with a very small planter running under the windows. It had a bit of a wrought iron fence to separate it from the bit of lawn that was the true common area. The HOA took care of landscaping that portion and my parents were responsible for their small attached portion. 

[Notabug]

13 minutes ago, amarante said:

It is odd but I imagine it has to do with the HOA being responsible for taking care of the "lawns". If they had steps people would probably start placing furniture, grills and other stuff that would make it hard to efficiently mow the lawn,

My parents lived in a ground floor condo unit when they retired. They had a very small enclosed area that was tiled like a patio with a very small planter running under the windows. It had a bit of a wrought iron fence to separate it from the bit of lawn that was the true common area. The HOA took care of landscaping that portion and my parents were responsible for their small attached portion. 

Yep, same reason HOA's often don't allow fences or hedges,  They often use a large riding mower to do the grass cutting and don't want to have to get out a push mover to cut around objects on the ground or to move them out of the way to cut.  

We also lived in a condo when I was a kid.  They also had small brick patios with fencing surrounding all but a small opening for people to enter and exit into the greater yard.  There was a small swatch of ground along the edge of the patio next to the house where owners could do their own thing and plant if they wanted; but nothing else on the exterior of the property.  We had a neighbor who loved gardening, had a lot of pots of flowers, etc on her patio.  She decided to set a couple of pots of flowers out to flank her front door and was promptly told to remove them even though they weren't on the lawn and wouldn't interfere with maintenance.  Because that is how condo HOA's work.

Edited August 20, 2023 by Notabug

[mojito]

On 8/18/2023 at 9:35 PM, chessiegal said:

The Dallas wife was "obsessed" "literally". 🙄

And she loved, loved, loved things, too. Including the hardwood floors.

It was the realtor who asked, "You do?" And she said nothing more.

[cinsays]

41 minutes ago, mojito said:

And she loved, loved, loved things, too. Including the hardwood floors.

It was the realtor who asked, "You do?" And she said nothing more.

ha

just watched the one where the gal said she could literally touch her back neighbor's house

uh, no, not unless you have at least 5 feet long arms.........literally

[twoods]

I watched a portion of an Austin episode in which the guy had 40 lizards. I don’t know how that couple will fare because it seems like the fiancé hates them, and they are buying a house together. I can’t fathom the upkeep for those freaking lizards and how he wants to find space for them, so I had to turn it off because I got so annoyed with them.

[CrazyInAlabama]

1 hour ago, twoods said:

I watched a portion of an Austin episode in which the guy had 40 lizards. I don’t know how that couple will fare because it seems like the fiancé hates them, and they are buying a house together. I can’t fathom the upkeep for those freaking lizards and how he wants to find space for them, so I had to turn it off because I got so annoyed with them.

I saw that rerun.   Wasn't he a veterinarian?    I hate when the person who's paying the mortgage gets told what they can and can't buy by the person who's not paying.    Also, unless some were Gila Monsters, or other poisonous critters, they're not dangerous, so why have a hissy fit about a lizard running around until the fiance grabs it up?     

Edited August 20, 2023 by CrazyInAlabama

[CalicoKitty]

7 hours ago, Notabug said:

Yep, same reason HOA's often don't allow fences or hedges,  They often use a large riding mower to do the grass cutting and don't want to have to get out a push mover to cut around objects on the ground or to move them out of the way to cut.  

We also lived in a condo when I was a kid.  They also had small brick patios with fencing surrounding all but a small opening for people to enter and exit into the greater yard.  There was a small swatch of ground along the edge of the patio next to the house where owners could do their own thing and plant if they wanted; but nothing else on the exterior of the property.  We had a neighbor who loved gardening, had a lot of pots of flowers, etc on her patio.  She decided to set a couple of pots of flowers out to flank her front door and was promptly told to remove them even though they weren't on the lawn and wouldn't interfere with maintenance.  Because that is how condo HOA's work.

Funny story regarding HOA lawn maintenance.  I used to live in a condo with HOA lawn care.  My neighbor across the street was getting new carpet, and the carpet guys had it laid out in the driveway to cut.  The lawn mower guy came around the building on his riding lawn mower.  Instead of driving about 10 extra feet around the carpet truck, he decided to drive across the carpet.  He didn't pull his blades up high enough, and flipped the riding mower and trashed the carpet.  The HOA had to pay for replacement, and we never saw that mower guy again.

[StatisticalOutlier]

There was an episode in Telluride, Colorado, a while back, and I recognized the houses.  But it was kind of cheating because Telluride is a tiny town and there just aren't that many houses, plus the one he bought was a very popular apres ski place right near the base of the ski area back in the day--it always had people spilling out onto the porch and yard.

9 hours ago, mojito said:

And she loved, loved, loved things, too. Including the hardwood floors.

I'm a carpet gal, so forgive my ignorance.  Were those hardwood floors?  They looked like some sort of faux-hardwood to me.

Are real hardwood floors ever gray?