House Hunters - General Discussion

[cinsays]

12 hours ago, pdlinda said:

I noticed the SAME THING....I got the impression that her "brand" of marketing herself on the social scene was based upon her thin figure with very thin legs and HER BELIEF that she was "forever young" (like a fading movie star).☺️

Her hair was absolutely horrible but I bet she didn't think so.

They never made ANY REFERENCE to her having a viable career and the home she bought was $600K so maybe she got a great "severance package" from her former husband.  

Another remark that she made stuck with me:  The realtor made mention of the fact that she was living ALONE and she responded (as an aside);  "I won't be living alone for long."😄

i found it pretty sad that she felt it necessary to dress so immaturely inappropriate to her age.  screams desperation to me.  won't be living alone long?  ha... 

[blondiek237]

Those dresses may have looked cute on her when she was in her 20-30, but now they look foolish.  Her daughter seems more mature then she did

[Notabug]

1 hour ago, blondiek237 said:

Those dresses may have looked cute on her when she was in her 20-30, but now they look foolish.  Her daughter seems more mature then she did

Her entire look; outfits, makeup, bad dye job all painted a picture and it wasn't very pretty.  I suspect her ex tossed her aside for a younger woman and she decided that all she needed to do was dress and act like a teen and all would be well.  I feel for her that she is so unself-aware.  Her daughter dressed like a grown up with a hairstyle and makeup meant for adults.  Too bad mom is such a mess.

Seems like the divorce settlement left her in pretty good financial shape though, so she'll probably find a guy who'd be more than happy to be with her soon enough.  

The whole episode just left me sad for the poor woman and her delusional self image.

[Empress1]

14 hours ago, pdlinda said:

They never made ANY REFERENCE to her having a viable career and the home she bought was $600K so maybe she got a great "severance package" from her former husband.  

They referenced her paying the mortgage alone several times though, so it seems like whatever the outcome of her divorce was, it wasn’t enough to pay cash? 

[amarante]

2 hours ago, blondiek237 said:

Those dresses may have looked cute on her when she was in her 20-30, but now they look foolish.  Her daughter seems more mature then she did

This appears to be a case in which the child had to parent the "parent" and it appears that she is doing everything opposite from her mother. 

The daughter even had what is obviously her original brown hair color in a fairly innocuous style. Not that there is anything wrong with that but many women of her age who aren't slavish followers of trends will put a few low lights or highlights in and cut some layers.

Surprised there were no comments on the "quirky" to the extreme HH in Washington who claimed she saw millions of colors due to a genetic disorder which her mother obviously kept refuting. 

Very upfront that the parents were giving her the downpayment money as an advance against inheritance but it must have been a HUGE downpayment for the HH to afford an $800,000 house on her own. She worked in a non-profit company which theoretically can pay a decent salary but it didn't seem like she was the kind of upper level executive who would be commanding a huge salary. 

While I don't think parents should hold a downpayment over someone's head to force them to get a home the HH doesn't like, if I had been the mother I would definitely have vetoed the house she bought. Expensive plus it needed a lot of remodeling. That refrigerator in another room would not be an inexpensive reconfiguration.

And of course the HH reluctantly admitted at the very end that she had no idea how much things cost - like even a can of paint. I can commiserate with the paint as somehow a can of decent house paint is now $50 whereas when I was in college and wanted to paint my room, it was so cheap that it didn't register as a significant expense. 

[ECM1231]

1 hour ago, Notabug said:

The whole episode just left me sad for the poor woman and her delusional self image.

I just felt sad for her regardless of how she presented. It seemed as if she was still not over the divorce. 20 years is a long time to invest in a marriage and I got the feeling that the divorce was not something that she wanted. 

[Empress1]

37 minutes ago, amarante said:

Surprised there were no comments on the "quirky" to the extreme HH in Washington who claimed she saw millions of colors due to a genetic disorder which her mother obviously kept refuting. 

I think that was a rerun. I didn’t see it recently but I have seen it.

[Mediocre Gatsby]

1 hour ago, ECM1231 said:

I just felt sad for her regardless of how she presented. It seemed as if she was still not over the divorce. 20 years is a long time to invest in a marriage and I got the feeling that the divorce was not something that she wanted. 

She said they'd been together for 28 years and would have been married for 24 this year, so that's a long time. It did somewhat temper my amazement at her clothes and hair style. I don't know if she was suddenly dressing that way as a newly single person, or if that was the way she was all through her marriage (like maybe her job was to look young?)

I did get annoyed with how often she described the kind of property she was coming from. LADY THAT'S GONE. 

 

[Empress1]

21 minutes ago, Mediocre Gatsby said:

I did get annoyed with how often she described the kind of property she was coming from. LADY THAT'S GONE

I once listened to a podcast in which a woman who had been married to a wealthy man lamented that she was no longer wealthy. She’d kind of worked as a freelance writer but hadn’t made enough to support herself; she’d never had to. She said that her lawyer told her “often the hardest thing for women like you to understand is that life as you knew it is over.” (“Support her in the lifestyle to which she’s become accustomed” is rare, and I think her kids were in college so there was no child support. She was very clear that she was living a middle-class lifestyle at best.) I thought of that when I watched this episode. Like, that home/lifestyle was a perk of the marriage, which no longer exists. It seemed like the HH was having a hard time facing that fact.

[cinsays]

2 hours ago, Mediocre Gatsby said:

She said they'd been together for 28 years and would have been married for 24 this year, so that's a long time. It did somewhat temper my amazement at her clothes and hair style. I don't know if she was suddenly dressing that way as a newly single person, or if that was the way she was all through her marriage (like maybe her job was to look young?)

I did get annoyed with how often she described the kind of property she was coming from. LADY THAT'S GONE. 

 

if her job wanted her to look young, i think she failed.  she looks like she's trying to look young, not flattering

i wonder if this was a new episode/recent

hope she doesn't read this board

[chessiegal]

29 minutes ago, cinsays said:

I wonder if this was a new episode/recent

If it aired at 10 pm ET Tuesday, my onscreen guide says it was new.

As far as people on the show reading here, they put themselves on tv, so they get what they get.

[Empress1]

49 minutes ago, cinsays said:

if her job wanted her to look young, i think she failed.  she looks like she's trying to look young, not flattering

I guarantee she’d have looked younger with a better dye job and more mature clothing and makeup.

[amarante]

3 hours ago, Empress1 said:

I guarantee she’d have looked younger with a better dye job and more mature clothing and makeup.

Mutton dressed as lamb is never a good look. 

[Bastet]

13 hours ago, Empress1 said:

They referenced her paying the mortgage alone several times though, so it seems like whatever the outcome of her divorce was, it wasn’t enough to pay cash? 

That's a safe bet since, media stereotypes aside, almost all women are worse off financially after divorce (while a significant percentage of men are better off, and among those who do experience economic loss, the overwhelming majority experience about half such loss as their former wives).

[snarts]

Boston, MA: love seeing the North Shore featured. Marblehead, Beverly Shores, Manchester by the Sea are all such cute towns.

The couple was cute and I liked all their options. Personally, I would've bought #2.

Disappointed to consistently hear the 'old houses are bad/scary' trope. Inspections are paramount regardless of the age of home and just because it's new/newer, does not mean it won't have issues. So many of the horror stories I hear involve newer builds where the builder took shortcuts to cut costs. 

Totally understand if someone prefers newer homes because they want/like open floorplans, ginormous bathrooms/closets. etc. That's a personal preference. What bugs is the inference that older homes all have hidden issues while new builds are perfect. 

My 1938 home may have some quirks but it was built with quality features you won't see in any new build. Getting off my soapbox now.

[cameron]

I did like the Mass. house buyers.  My only complaint that once again we have a buyer who wants high end finishes and has to ask the realtor if the counters are quartz or granite.  Think they would know the difference without asking.

[amarante]

7 hours ago, Bastet said:

That's a safe bet since, media stereotypes aside, almost all women are worse off financially after divorce (while a significant percentage of men are better off, and among those who do experience economic loss, the overwhelming majority experience about half such loss as their former wives).

With Aging Barbie HH, I don't think she really is in dire financial straits.

She is buying a home that costs more than most Americans can afford. It is much larger than a single person needs - it isn't as if she is living in a tiny studio condo.

A more financially prudent move might be to buy a more modest condo and have NO mortgage.

The divorced people who suffer financially generally have more limited assets to start with and so it is quite a bit more expensive to have two households when there are minor children to support and/or college tuition. 

[Johannah]

On 10/31/2023 at 2:15 PM, chessiegal said:

This show has been on the air for over 20 years. I read that the originators were hoping it would last 2 or 3 years. Anyone remember the early days where they never said where they were or how much they paid for the houses? They were all shot in Southern California, and they always bought house #3. Or on occasion they would not buy at all.

It's definitely has become a cash cow for HGTV. 

I don't remember all the stuff from the early years.  It would be nice if the repeats went back further than 2015.  I'm glad it's still on the air, even if i have to put up with obnoxious people who have to gut everything right away if it's over a year old.

SC divorcee:  I got the feeling that not only did she have to significantly downgrade, but that she didn't want to admit/accept it.  I don't remember exactly, but, amidst telling us how wonderful her previous house was (and it was!) didn't she make comments that this house was going to be almost as magnificent?  And it ended up being average.  I could be remembering it all wrong and I didn't want to go back and rewatch, but I got the impression she was trying to impress us only to end up ... not so impressive.  Although, if it means she is accepting her lesser status, then, good for her.

AND, I get that it's the premise of the show, but I wish they would stop discussing the 3 houses at the end as if they actually did a house hunt this way - looked at 3 (or more) houses then discussed which one to buy.  Who does this?  Doesn't everyone hunt until they find their house then put a bid on it?  Not, I love this house, now, let's find two more to compare.  Why can't they use some format that says, we're going to show you 3 houses, comment on them, and you guess which one we bought.  (I know they already own the house, and this format would actually be more 'real'.)  Yeah, I like this idea.  Someone send it to the producers.  They can start a new show.  "House Buyers" ... "House Bought"?

[rhofmovalley]

My brother bought about 18 months ago while the market was crazy and he viewed several houses and bid on three or four of them. If he'd only bid on one and didn't win he would have had to start all over again. And that actually did happen. Some couple wrote a letter and the sellers swooned and chose them. My brother was annoyed! I told him the winning buyers probably watched House Hunters. He ended up with a house he didn't really want but he was in a time crunch and had to buy something. He's happy now though!

[Orcinus orca]

31 minutes ago, Johannah said:

(I know they already own the house, and this format would actually be more 'real'.) 

And I think it would be fun if they said that they were sorry they bought it after seeing better options for the show!

[chessiegal]

1 minute ago, Orcinus orca said:

And I think it would be fun if they said that they were sorry they bought it after seeing better options for the show!

There is no guarantee the decoy houses were even for sale. My stepdaughter lives in NOLA and a house across the street was used as a decoy. It was a flip that had already sold.

[Crashcourse]

51 minutes ago, Johannah said:

Why can't they use some format that says, we're going to show you 3 houses, comment on them, and you guess which one we bought.  (I know they already own the house, and this format would actually be more 'real'.)  Yeah, I like this idea.  Someone send it to the producers.  They can start a new show.  "House Buyers" ... "House Bought"?

I think this is a great idea!

[blondiek237]

6 hours ago, snarts said:

Boston, MA: love seeing the North Shore featured. Marblehead, Beverly Shores, Manchester by the Sea are all such cute towns.

The couple was cute and I liked all their options. Personally, I would've bought #2.

Disappointed to consistently hear the 'old houses are bad/scary' trope. Inspections are paramount regardless of the age of home and just because it's new/newer, does not mean it won't have issues. So many of the horror stories I hear involve newer builds where the builder took shortcuts to cut costs. 

Totally understand if someone prefers newer homes because they want/like open floorplans, ginormous bathrooms/closets. etc. That's a personal preference. What bugs is the inference that older homes all have hidden issues while new builds are perfect. 

My 1938 home may have some quirks but it was built with quality features you won't see in any new build. Getting off my soapbox now.

I say the same thing--we live in a house built in 1960 and just did a major reno and found nothing.  I had a brand new townhouse that was nothing but problems.  I'll take an old house with updated electrical and plumbing over a new build anyday.

[Mediocre Gatsby]

The Boston couple walked into one place that was nothing but white everywhere. They both said: "I love the color!" 

Me at home: "WHAT color?"

I thought the gold hardware on the cabinets was hideous. 

[Thumper]

5 minutes ago, Mediocre Gatsby said:

The Boston couple walked into one place that was nothing but white everywhere. They both said: "I love the color!" 

Me at home: "WHAT color?"

I thought the gold hardware on the cabinets was hideous. 

I’m not a fan of gold hardware either.  We only recently finally got rid of all the brass fixtures in our 1980’s-built house! 😂

[Kimboweena]

1 hour ago, Mediocre Gatsby said:

The Boston couple walked into one place that was nothing but white everywhere. They both said: "I love the color!" 

Me at home: "WHAT color?"

Maybe they both have that Super Color Vision like the Washington HH.  They can see colors the average person can't see. 🙄

[CalicoKitty]

3 hours ago, blondiek237 said:

I say the same thing--we live in a house built in 1960 and just did a major reno and found nothing.  I had a brand new townhouse that was nothing but problems.  I'll take an old house with updated electrical and plumbing over a new build anyday.

My nephew lives in a house that was built in the early 1950's.  They are doing a full remodel including adding almost double the square feet, and the builders are amazed at how well built this house is.  They are saving as much of the flooring and sub flooring as they can because of the high quality of materials.  There is wood paneling in one room that they are removing and planning to sell to vintage house remodelers.  The quality of the build on his house is amazing.  I, on the other hand, live in a new build, and several of my neighbors have had leaking problems.  I would much rather live in an older home, as long is things pass inspection.

[Mediocre Gatsby]

Boston: I forgot to say, they eat with her parents 2-3 times a week! What's that all about? I wouldn't want to eat with anyone that many times a week! Especially since at one point he asked what time they needed to be there "tonight," and she said "3 pm." Those are some long evenings. 

[cameron]

Those Raleigh HH were really an annoying couple.  Glad they don't plan on getting married or ever having children.  Wonder if she knows how to spell inspirational.

[pdlinda]

8 hours ago, cameron said:

Those Raleigh HH were really an annoying couple.  Glad they don't plan on getting married or ever having children.

Agreed!  She said she was an acct mgr??  I couldn't make "heads or tails" out of what he said he did for a living? 

I also didn't need to know her (their) strong feelings about not wanting to get married or have kids.  

[Hedgehog2022]

On 11/1/2023 at 10:38 AM, blondiek237 said:

Those dresses may have looked cute on her when she was in her 20-30, but now they look foolish.  Her daughter seems more mature then she did

Sadly, she hasn't accepted the fact that she's middle aged...she dresses like a 20 something. Her daughter needs to have a convo with her about getting a makeover...hair, clothes ,etc.  Age appropriate hair and hair color and age appropriate clothing that is stylish would make a world of difference for her.

[Mediocre Gatsby]

14 hours ago, cameron said:

Those Raleigh HH were really an annoying couple.  Glad they don't plan on getting married or ever having children.  Wonder if she knows how to spell inspirational.

Why should she spell inspirational when she can just keep saying "inspo"? 

They were kind of annoying. I knew they'd chosen the townhome because of blue tape on a wall, and I thought, you guys might be better off without a yard. 

I wonder if HH sent out some kind of casting call for people who had inherited the money to buy a house or for a down payment for a house. 

[snarts]

Raleigh, NC: I hope the townhouse was either in her name alone or that she had a real estate attorney draw up a contract to protect her investment should the relationship end. He seemed to have some expensive hobbies and low paying job. I'd bet money that he's not paying half.

Holland, MI: I love this part of my state. I liked them and their enthusiasm. Personally, I would've picked #1, it's such a cute neighborhood. The new build they chose is likely to be quickly surrounded by other new builds, after living through the construction mess for a few years. I wonder if the property taxes are less in Fennville?

Edited November 4, 2023 by snarts

[Grizzly]

1 hour ago, snarts said:

Holland, MI: I love this part of my state. I liked them and their enthusiasm. Personally, I would've picked #1, it's such a cute neighborhood. The new build they chose is likely to be quickly surrounded by other new builds, after living through the construction mess for a few years. I wonder if the property taxes are less in Fennville?

I liked the stone on the outside of the new build.

[cinsays]

Chicago K1 and K2.  they got a remarkable deal way below asking in the neighborhood they wanted but K2 was so whiny.  

[CalicoKitty]

I thought K2 was annoying.  I wonder how long they will stay together.

[Dibs]

On 11/2/2023 at 11:38 AM, rhofmovalley said:

My brother bought about 18 months ago while the market was crazy and he viewed several houses and bid on three or four of them. If he'd only bid on one and didn't win he would have had to start all over again. And that actually did happen. Some couple wrote a letter and the sellers swooned and chose them. My brother was annoyed! I told him the winning buyers probably watched House Hunters. He ended up with a house he didn't really want but he was in a time crunch and had to buy something. He's happy now though!

How does that work?  What if two (or more) had accepted his offer?  He'd be under contract (and legally obligated to buy) THREE houses!

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, Dibs said:

How does that work?  What if two (or more) had accepted his offer?  He'd be under contract (and legally obligated to buy) THREE houses!

It has become a thing in markets where "bidding wars" are the norm.  It's not a great idea, and it raises ethical considerations, but it happens.

As soon as the first offer is accepted, you revoke the other two; what are the odds they all get accepted within minutes of each other so you can't do that?  Also, even that risk is non-existent depending on what state you're in, as there may be option periods where you can back out within a certain number of days -- even after earnest money has been put into escrow without losing that deposit.  Even if you had the worst luck in the world, and it all went to shit and you were under contract on three homes, you wouldn't have to actually buy all three, you'd just be out the deposit on the other two.

[Mediocre Gatsby]

On 11/4/2023 at 5:51 AM, snarts said:

Raleigh, NC: I hope the townhouse was either in her name alone or that she had a real estate attorney draw up a contract to protect her investment should the relationship end. He seemed to have some expensive hobbies and low paying job. I'd bet money that he's not paying half.

Holland, MI: I love this part of my state. I liked them and their enthusiasm. Personally, I would've picked #1, it's such a cute neighborhood. The new build they chose is likely to be quickly surrounded by other new builds, after living through the construction mess for a few years. I wonder if the property taxes are less in Fennville?

Raleigh: Since the guy made a point of saying that the woman was putting down the down payment, it sounded like they had that discussion. 

Michigan: For some reason I thought they'd pick the second house (cabin-y) but I could have seen them in any of the houses. They weren't too picky or annoying, which is the low bar that is all I expect HH to meet! 

[Mediocre Gatsby]

Kansas: Couple who felt they rushed when they bought their last house, and was looking again. I was sure they'd go for house one, the only one that had a sun room and a fenced yard for their dog. The one they bought had no fence because the HOA fees covered cutting the grass. 

I didn't get a Chicago episode! Too bad because I love those. 

Edited November 6, 2023 by Mediocre Gatsby
I forgot to mention the dog

[rhofmovalley]

15 hours ago, Dibs said:

How does that work?  What if two (or more) had accepted his offer?  He'd be under contract (and legally obligated to buy) THREE houses!

He put in offers. He didn't sign purchase contracts. That doesn't happen until the seller accepts your offer 

[Dibs]

Verbal offers?  Because every time I've bought a house, and I've bought five now, I submit my offer in writing with my signature.  Unless I include "escape clauses" (contingencies), if the buyer accepts it, he/she also signs it, and we're under contract.

[CalicoKitty]

I thought if you decided to back out of an accepted offer you lost your deposit.

[chessiegal]

We backed out of an accepted offer based on the home inspection. We got our deposit back.

[Bastet]

58 minutes ago, CalicoKitty said:

I thought if you decided to back out of an accepted offer you lost your deposit.

It depends on why, and what's allowed vs. what requires forfeiture of deposit depends on state law and the terms of the individual contract.

[Dibs]

That's one of those "escape clauses" I mentioned (contingencies).  You can make the sale contingent on certain conditions, like a favorable home inspection, and recover your earnest money in that case.  But otherwise, you're contractually obligated to go through with it.  They MAY let you off with just keeping the money, or they may sue to force the sale.  No way would I make offers on multiple houses at the same time.

Edited November 7, 2023 by Dibs

[cameron]

Curious where all that down payment money is coming from on the Chicago buyers.  He just finished expensive medical school and is about to start his residency.  Not a lot of money there with long work hours.  Maybe she is the major breadwinner in this relationship.  She was certainly  being  very theatrical with all her hand gestures.

Edited November 7, 2023 by cameron

[Judiz]

 Buying a house with poor cellphone service because it is safer? 

[rhofmovalley]

My brother's agent was notified before anything was formalized. The seller's agent apparently did him that courtesy. He didn't get either of the other two homes anyway. He did tell me he was fine with whichever one he got, but he ended up with his third choice. 

[snarts]

Westchester County, NY: I wish they'd identify the city, the county is large. The property tax rates vary widely from town to town (driven by business density) it can have such a huge impact on monthly payments.

I liked them and the options. Not surprised they chose the colonial with the lowest price tag. Aside from the lack of central air, it seemed to be nicely remodeled and fit their needs.  

Edited November 7, 2023 by snarts