House Hunters - General Discussion

[Orcinus orca]

9 minutes ago, snarts said:

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.  

They seems like a nice couple. No big drama from either of them. Very pleasant episode.

[Mediocre Gatsby]

4 hours ago, Judiz said:

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

That guy was wacky. I get not wanting to be near power lines or even cell towers, but he was going to work in telehealth and you'd think that besides great internet service, he'd want good cell service as a backup. And stairs provide too much exercise before bedtime! 

I liked the woman and was happy to see that she was getting some satisfaction from taking on projects. 

13 minutes ago, snarts said:

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.  

We hear a lot about how it's great to be walking distance to a train station (coming from CA, I, too, would always be looking at parking issues if I bought a home) but no one mentions whether or not it would be noisy living close to a train line. Maybe they're so ubiquitous that you hear the noise wherever you live? 

[chessiegal]

I had in-laws that lived one block from the St. David's train station on the main line out of Philadelphia. You get used to the train noise.

[cameron]

41 minutes ago, snarts said:

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.  

It was in Tuckahoe, New York.

[Notabug]

18 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

I had in-laws that lived one block from the St. David's train station on the main line out of Philadelphia. You get used to the train noise.

I've lived for 32 years with the train tracks just behind my house.  You do get used to the noise, pretty quickly, in fact.  The only time it is a problem is if there is a gathering in the backyard.  Then, it's too noisy for conversation until the train passes, which only takes a minute or two.  The railroad easement being behind my house also makes the backyard more private as I cannot see the neighbors behind me and they cannot see me.

[pdlinda]

1 hour ago, snarts said:

Westchester County, NY: I wish they'd identify the city, the county is large.

Yes, I agree with you.  I was surprised and disappointed they didn't reveal exactly where the homes were located in Westchester County.  I wonder why they did that???

32 minutes ago, cameron said:

It was in Tuckahoe, New York.

Thank you!  I know all about Tuckahoe because when we moved from the Bronx, N.Y. when I was a kid, we moved to Tuckahoe!!

[buttersister]

Quote

Aside from the lack of central air, it seemed to be nicely remodeled and fit their needs.  

Hard to tell these days if installing central air or a bunch of remodeling would be more expensive. Here, I’m betting on the remodeling (friends added a/c for 20K).

Working in telehealth without great cell coverage? LOL! No. Made up. WTF?

[ECM1231]

4 hours ago, snarts said:

Westchester County, NY: I wish they'd identify the city, the county is large.

Yes. As a Long Island girl somewhat familiar with Westchester County, I'm interested in knowing which towns they've visited. The same goes for Long Island, where they tend not to mention town names. They did mention the NJ town where the 1st home was located, so I'm wondering if it's an issue of privacy for certain homeowners, who may not want the viewers to know in which town the house they chose was located.

3 hours ago, cameron said:

It was in Tuckahoe, New York.

Was that mentioned? I rewound twice but never heard that. 

[CalicoKitty]

6 hours ago, Notabug said:

I've lived for 32 years with the train tracks just behind my house.  You do get used to the noise, pretty quickly, in fact.  The only time it is a problem is if there is a gathering in the backyard.  Then, it's too noisy for conversation until the train passes, which only takes a minute or two.  The railroad easement being behind my house also makes the backyard more private as I cannot see the neighbors behind me and they cannot see me.

This discussion reminds me of one of my favorite old movies, "A Letter to Three Wives".  One of the women grew up in a house right next to the train track.   They would be having a conversation, and when the train passed they would casually grab a hold of a chair or a table and keep talking while the whole house shook hard and the refrigerator door opened.  It was really funny to see how they weren't bothered at all.  I've always wondered how they made that house set shake so hard. 

[chessiegal]

14 minutes ago, CalicoKitty said:

I've always wondered how they made that house set shake so hard. 

They build the set on top of a mechanical contraption of some sort that can shake it around.

[Grizzly]

Orlando, FL. Whoa, that's a lot of plaid! I found myself liking Dean more than . He seems down to earth while she's hippy dippy, the stars are aligned for us to buy. They seem happy together and I think they picked the right house. Hope she keeps the dark cabinets. 

[buttersister]

Not gonna lie, she had a point about Mercury  in retrograde. 😅

I don’t follow wrestling, had no idea who he was, but they weren’t snarky with each other, so points for that. I thought he made it clear #3 was their pick (house). Hope they were newly under contract, that garage would have been a pain to clear.

[cameron]

On 11/7/2023 at 4:27 PM, ECM1231 said:

Yes. As a Long Island girl somewhat familiar with Westchester County, I'm interested in knowing which towns they've visited. The same goes for Long Island, where they tend not to mention town names. They did mention the NJ town where the 1st home was located, so I'm wondering if it's an issue of privacy for certain homeowners, who may not want the viewers to know in which town the house they chose was located.

Was that mentioned? I rewound twice but never heard that. 

It showed up in the graphics.

[javajeanelaine]

I lived in an apartment next to train tracks and lived there for 3 years.. You do get used to it.

Quote

 

 

[CrazyInAlabama]

The two doctors in Rochester MN have a healthy budget.  However, has the husband considered the issues with living in the country in heavy show country? 

 I'm sure they have to be a certain distance from the hospitals they'll be working at, and way out of town isn't going to cut it.     I guess they were both at the Mayo in Scottsdale before.   

[Thumper]

I assume they are working at Mayo in Rochester, too.  I also figured they’d want to be closer to the hospital, so the country home seemed like an odd option.  It was also an odd house!

 

 

[cameron]

18 hours ago, Thumper said:

I assume they are working at Mayo in Rochester, too.  I also figured they’d want to be closer to the hospital, so the country home seemed like an odd option.  It was also an odd house!

 

 

Couldn't believe when her father asked if they are going to rip out the hardwood floors and replace them with tile or carpet?  Why would they even consider that.

[Grizzly]

Rochester. I'm an only child, I visited my parents at least once a week. There is no way in hell I would move within walking distance of them. Even if my husband had agreed, which he never would.

[buttersister]

I think they said they were residents, so no way would “in the country” be okay. Near work and near her parents? You don’t say! *sigh* Some of the episodes try my last nerve. (Still remembering the Paris HHI ep in which an older woman was shown a great apartment, at the top of a dark spiral staircase. You betcha.)

[Notabug]

1 hour ago, buttersister said:

I think they said they were residents, so no way would “in the country” be okay. Near work and near her parents? You don’t say! *sigh* Some of the episodes try my last nerve. (Still remembering the Paris HHI ep in which an older woman was shown a great apartment, at the top of a dark spiral staircase. You betcha.)

If they were residents, they would probably be required to stay at the hospital overnight when on call; so they wouldn't be driving in from home in the middle of the night.  However, residents work at least 80 hours a week these days; back in the day, when I was a resident, I made sure to never live more than 10-15 minutes from the hospital to save time commuting.

Edited November 11, 2023 by Notabug

[cameron]

Florida buyers.  Surprised that they picked Boca with that budget.  Think their dollar would have worked better in other areas of Florida.

[laredhead]

Florida buyers - none of the houses looked great to me, and especially at those outrageous prices.  The house they bought needed a total reno, IMO.  6 people in a just under 1500 sf house is going to be crowded, and I think the husband is going to get tired of family togetherness fast.  I am assuming that the 20-year old daughter was the wife's child by a previous relationship, maybe she will be leaving home soon.  There had to be a reason they chose Boca Raton, but I agree with Cameron that their $$ would have been better spent elsewhere in Florida.

My DVR recorded 2 episodes where both buyers wanted a project house.  One was a couple who ended up buying a big house that came with alpacas. The wife was a designer, and if she said the word "vibe" once, she said it at least 10 more times during the episode.  I think the realtor was way over her by the time the episode ended.  The second episode was in Denver, and the woman ended up buying what I would consider a dump.  In between, there was some HGTV talking head/designer who was giving tips on how to give your house your own touch.  My house would be a million dollars in Denver.

[ECM1231]

Perhaps I need to pay more attention while watching but I could have sworn that the Rochester, MN country house was no more than a 15-minute drive to the hospital.  Hardly what I'd call a long commute. Nonetheless, I did love the lovely yard of the in-town home that they chose. 

[chessiegal]

2 hours ago, laredhead said:

Florida buyers - none of the houses looked great to me, and especially at those outrageous prices.  The house they bought needed a total reno, IMO.  6 people in a just under 1500 sf house is going to be crowded, and I think the husband is going to get tired of family togetherness fast.  I am assuming that the 20-year old daughter was the wife's child by a previous relationship, maybe she will be leaving home soon.  There had to be a reason they chose Boca Raton, but I agree with Cameron that their $$ would have been better spent elsewhere in Florida.

My DVR recorded 2 episodes where both buyers wanted a project house.  One was a couple who ended up buying a big house that came with alpacas. The wife was a designer, and if she said the word "vibe" once, she said it at least 10 more times during the episode.  I think the realtor was way over her by the time the episode ended.  The second episode was in Denver, and the woman ended up buying what I would consider a dump.  In between, there was some HGTV talking head/designer who was giving tips on how to give your house your own touch.  My house would be a million dollars in Denver.

The Friday night theme double headers are repackaged old shows that they are calling new.

[laredhead]

3 hours ago, chessiegal said:

The Friday night theme double headers are repackaged old shows that they are calling new.

Thank you, Chessiegal.  I must have missed those two during their original airing, because I KNOW I would have remembered alpacas - lol.

[kirklandia]

23 hours ago, chessiegal said:

The Friday night theme double headers are repackaged old shows that they are calling new.

I think the latest double-episode shows are new content, not repackaged reruns.  The gimmick is that they are themed and "hosted" (added scenes and voiceovers) by a current HGTV "star".
They air on the same night as that host's own show. Last week, they started showing Jasmine Roth and fixer-upper houses.  On Wednesdays, the same night as Help! I Wrecked My House.
Before that, it was Keith Bynum and Evan Thomas and tiny houses, on the same night as Bargain Block.  And before that, David Bromstad and houses in glamorous/vacation destinations on the same night as My Lottery Dream Home.

(Why do I notice and remember this stuff?)

Edited November 12, 2023 by kirklandia

[CalicoKitty]

I watched an episode last night with a husband who had ADHD and needed a basement or garage for his gym equipment so he could work out  because it was this therapy.  The wife was "very particular" and kept sort of ignoring his needs.  She had some weird mouth movements--almost tics--and kept scratching her head.  They were not very pleasant to watch.  They ended up with the house with a shared driveway and a gym rack already installed in the garage, so he did get his much needed workout space.  I just really didn't like how they interacted with each other.

[cinsays]

58 minutes ago, CalicoKitty said:

I watched an episode last night with a husband who had ADHD and needed a basement or garage for his gym equipment so he could work out  because it was this therapy.  The wife was "very particular" and kept sort of ignoring his needs.  She had some weird mouth movements--almost tics--and kept scratching her head.  They were not very pleasant to watch.  They ended up with the house with a shared driveway and a gym rack already installed in the garage, so he did get his much needed workout space.  I just really didn't like how they interacted with each other.

if i had to be married to that guy, i'd have developed some weird mouth movements too

and a shared driveway would just not work

[CrazyInAlabama]

Grand Rapids, Michigan.    How sad to lose both of her parents so recently.   She needs storage space for items her parents left to her.    

I like condo #1, HOA fee  is $750 a month, but what does that huge HOA cover?   Poor Archie, the Labrador, no back yard here.   Realtor talking about that big park close by isn't a solution for a big dog. Fantastic views. I like the two included garage parking spaces. 

#2-single family.  new construction, stand alone condo (villa).  $438,000 2 bedroom, 2 bath. $488k, LVP will be easy to maintain.  HOA lawn, snow removal, driveway and street maintenance, no fences allowed.  nice main ensuite, 2 car garage, guest bath is nice.  man bedroom is nice, but only one extra bedroom for a guest room and office. Lovely sunroom, 4 season room.  

#3-single family with a lot more storage room.  $512,500.  15 minutes from downtown.  nice yard for Archie. 2537 sq ft.  kitchen is long, and wider galley.   2 car garage, with a storage room added.  guest bath is nice, but it's shared between the 3 bedrooms including the primary bedroom, no ensuite.    lovely back yard.  3 bedrooms, primary bedroom is nice.  Downstairs but above ground family room.  second bathroom is in the family room.  basement has a fiminsh family room with a fireplace.  Yard needs side /front fence to enclose the yard.  

She picks #2, for $428k, instead of list $435k. 

[javajeanelaine]

I think the Grand Rapids HH picked the right place for her needs.

[Grizzly]

Burlington, VT. Abigail is pleasant. I'm trying to figure out what that tattoo on her arm is. Stinks that she needs to get a roommate to make this work. #3 did make the most sense. It was the biggest and fully fenced for Winnie. So cute.

[ECM1231]

Burlington VT realtor referred to 2/3 houses as split level, but they were what we call a high ranch here and others call a raised ranch. A true split level has multiple levels: usually the kitchen, dining and living rooms are on 1 level. You go up maybe 6 steps to another level, which has the bedrooms and bathroom. From the living room level you go down 6 steps or so to the family room and sometimes there is a basement below the family room level. At least that's what split levels are around here.

I think the house chosen was the best value, but yikes for paying 66K over list price. I think she should either move the laundry or put another washer and dryer upstairs.

[chessiegal]

Split level, split entry, raised ranch - all those descriptions seem to be regional. I've decided there is no right or wrong. It depends on what area of the country you are in.

[Empress1]

On 11/14/2023 at 10:31 PM, Grizzly said:

Stinks that she needs to get a roommate to make this work.

Yeah, that would make me a bit nervous - it seems like she can’t actually afford the house on her own. And if I were the roommate, having my landlord in my space every week to do laundry would annoy the shit out of me. Love the yard, though it seems like a lot of work.

[chediavolo]

21 hours ago, Empress1 said:

Yeah, that would make me a bit nervous - it seems like she can’t actually afford the house on her own. And if I were the roommate, having my landlord in my space every week to do laundry would annoy the shit out of me. Love the yard, though it seems like a lot of work.

Good luck finding someone to put up with that invasion of privacy. I would never ever be good with this for so many reasons. 

[laredhead]

1 hour ago, chediavolo said:

Good luck finding someone to put up with that invasion of privacy. I would never ever be good with this for so many reasons. 

I agree.  At the end, the HH said she had found a renter who had said the laundry set up schedule had to be a mutually agreed upon item.  I can't remember if the basement/lower level area had a kitchen, so if it did not then the renter would also be sharing the owner's kitchen space as well.  That might work for many people, but I think this HH would have been better off finding a duplex with a yard and totally private spaces for both occupants.  Another one for the HH Where Are They Now episodes that we will never see again.

[Empress1]

26 minutes ago, laredhead said:

I can't remember if the basement/lower level area had a kitchen, so if it did not then the renter would also be sharing the owner's kitchen space as well. 

Oh, I didn’t notice that but if that’s true, I would never. There’s a difference between renting a room in a house and renting an apartment. I dislike AirBnB, but that setup might have been better for that.

Aren’t there laws that dictate that a landlord has to give notice before entering? I guess they have to have a laundry schedule.

Edited November 17, 2023 by Empress1

[StatisticalOutlier]

14 hours ago, Empress1 said:

Aren’t there laws that dictate that a landlord has to give notice before entering?

But will the HH be a landlord to her roommate?  Do roommates have different rights if one of them happens to own the property, or is the one on the lease?  

There was no kitchen in the lower level, so I'm assuming they'll be what most of us think of as roommates, plus at the end, she referred to this person who will be moving in as a roommate (although along the way, somebody used the word renter). 

What I found odd is that she's apparently from Burlington, since her parents live there, too, but she met the girl who was on the episode with her on a website for finding friends.  I guess we do everything online these days.

[cameron]

Nashville house buyers were a throw back to the 60's era hippie couples.  Really think he could join the working world; but then he would have to cut his hair and clean up that beard.

[laredhead]

That "freedom beard", as he named it, was not attractive, IMO.  Looked like a small animal could live in it and never be discovered.  The pictures of the man before the beard, showed him to be an attractive person, so it wasn't like he was hiding some facial deformity.  If nothing else, he could have it professionally trimmed to a shorter length, and look well groomed.  Also, 8 children over 30 years - wow!  Otherwise, they were nice to each other, no snarky comments or the usual stuff that puts couples on the opposite sides of the fence with each other in so many episodes.  Now I'm trying to remember which house they bought.  I was too distracted by the beard to remember.        

[Crashcourse]

6 hours ago, cameron said:

Nashville house buyers were a throw back to the 60's era hippie couples.  Really think he could join the working world; but then he would have to cut his hair and clean up that beard.

Didn't he mention wanting a gig as a drummer?  If so, I guess the beard would fit right in with the rest of the band.  I thought I heard the wife say she didn't like the beard though, so I think he should trim it.

[pdlinda]

5 hours ago, laredhead said:

That "freedom beard", as he named it, was not attractive, IMO.

It seemed to me that the beard was his form of "performative art."  He seemed to relish the "attention" he was sure to receive anywhere he appeared.  Maybe being in the military for so many years caused him to "act out" in that way but, to me it was very juvenile.  I thought he looked ridiculous.

They did seem very compatible and he certainly should be commended for serving his Country for such a long time.  

[Notabug]

Could've knocked me over with a feather watching the Nashville eppy.  First time I ever knew a House Hunter.  I worked with the wife years ago, back when she just had a few kids.  She was definitely born too late; she was a throwback hippie chick back then, too.  .I wasn't surprise she was looking for quirky, that's her vibe.  Fun person and good coworker, though.  

They picked the second place, the smaller raised ranch with a lot of land.  It had been nicely renovated, though.

I've known a few guys who've worked in professions where a lot of facial hair is not permitted who've grown a 'freedom beard' on retirement.  My cousin retired from a big city police force and he grew something similar to what we saw in the episode.  His wife also hated it, but he kept it for quite a while.

Edited November 18, 2023 by Notabug

[Hedgehog2022]

4 hours ago, pdlinda said:

It seemed to me that the beard was his form of "performative art."  He seemed to relish the "attention" he was sure to receive anywhere he appeared.  Maybe being in the military for so many years caused him to "act out" in that way but, to me it was very juvenile.  I thought he looked ridiculous.

They did seem very compatible and he certainly should be commended for serving his Country for such a long time.  

I wanted to like these two but their arrested development, 1967 flower power, love-in hippie vib was too much for me. A lot of retired men these days seem to embrace that look...the Hawaiian shirts, huge beards, nose rings and ear piercings and long hair. I've seen it even in suburbia...wife looked like she might be pregnant again. That raised ranch was small for their family and the exterior was unattractive. But at least he won't have to work and can do his "music"...ha ha.

[Crashcourse]

I got a "Big Lebowski" vibe from the Nashville dad.  He could've been Jeff Bridges' father in that movie.  😄

Edited November 18, 2023 by Crashcourse

[pdlinda]

1 hour ago, Hedgehog2022 said:

wife looked like she might be pregnant again

I thought the SAME THING!  However, I know someone around her age who has a lot of kids (7) and for 2 YRS after her last child was born, she looked "pregnant" even though she wasn't. 

Perhaps, after so many pregnancies, your belly fat expands to the point where if you don't take stringent diet/exercise measures, it remains full of fat.

Eventually, the person I know went on a strict diet because her eldest daughter was going to be 16 and they planned a big party where pictures were sure to be taken.  She got down to a size 0 (she's petite so that's a "normal" size for her) and looked FABULOUS for the event. 

HOWEVER, today, 5 yrs later, her weight ballooned up again, and she's back to "looking pregnant".  

[Hedgehog2022]

3 hours ago, pdlinda said:

I thought the SAME THING!  However, I know someone around her age who has a lot of kids (7) and for 2 YRS after her last child was born, she looked "pregnant" even though she wasn't. 

Perhaps, after so many pregnancies, your belly fat expands to the point where if you don't take stringent diet/exercise measures, it remains full of fat.

Eventually, the person I know went on a strict diet because her eldest daughter was going to be 16 and they planned a big party where pictures were sure to be taken.  She got down to a size 0 (she's petite so that's a "normal" size for her) and looked FABULOUS for the event. 

HOWEVER, today, 5 yrs later, her weight ballooned up again, and she's back to "looking pregnant".  

Eight babies can have a drastic affect on a woman's body. Some women snap right back after their multiple pregnancies but many don't and before you know it you're in menopause and have another battle with hormones and weight gain...ugh.

[StatisticalOutlier]

10 hours ago, Notabug said:

Could've knocked me over with a feather watching the Nashville eppy.  First time I ever knew a House Hunter. 

That happened to me when I was watching an episode of HH International once.  It's a gas.

Quote

I worked with the wife years ago, back when she just had a few kids. 

What was her job?  She said something about going back to being a doula, and I thought, "That make sense."  But I (obviously) don't know if that was her only career.

[laredhead]

In the final scenes after they bought the house, they were all sitting around a table, and the father was giving the oldest son praise for his role in helping with the younger children over the "past few years".  The son was 25, and I wondered if some of the children had lived with that son to keep from moving around so much.  The many military moves with 8 children isn't a typical family dynamic, but they seem to be happy.  I hope they enjoy their new life in a permanent location.

   

[Notabug]

9 hours ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

That happened to me when I was watching an episode of HH International once.  It's a gas.

What was her job?  She said something about going back to being a doula, and I thought, "That make sense."  But I (obviously) don't know if that was her only career.

Keelan was a medical assistant in an OB/GYN office.  She mainly worked with a group of midwives there and they delivered her first few kids which is probably where she got her desire to be a doula.  She was always interested in OB, not surprised she went in that direction, although it's pretty tough to provide for a family as most doulas are essentially freelance contractors and get paid case by case.  The income tends not to be steady and there are no benefits since it's self employment usually.

BTW, OB/GYN here.  She didn't look pregnant to me and I've seen her pregnant in real life.  Some women carry their weight in their midsection and I think she's one.  She's always been a larger woman, also tall.