House Hunters - General Discussion

[StatisticalOutlier]

21 hours ago, Grrarrggh said:

I had 2 LOL moments in the Waco episode: the Doogie House-hunter joke and the one that Laura Ingalls Wilde had decorated the kitchen of the last house. 

What about the decorating that the HH's mother did of his bedroom (which the comedians agreed looked like exactly that)?  Good lord.  That little ruffled rag on the window with the half-circle thing above it.

Edited June 18, 2020 by StatisticalOutlier

[Grizzly]

Chris from Atlanta would have loved Whitney's entrance for the Fairfield ep.

[MaKaM]

I hadn't seen the "cat tube" episode before and there is a couple I wouldn't mind a status update on. Either they were great actors and really emphasizing the producer-driven strife or they were well on the road to hating each other.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I'm hoping the cat tube people rethought having tunnels for the cats, and I hope they were acting for the show, because if they weren't they were damned annoying. 

[Door County Cherry]

I kind of appreciated the bird house/slack couple for their dedication to ridiculousness.

But it was obvious they weren't going for three.  Yes, it was perhaps the best house/location but it was $25,000 over the top of their budget. 

The comments about the Atlanta couple's house search being like a soap opera were on point.  I mean that dramatic pause where the duo have to discuss their relationship before continuing their house hunt?  Brilliant. 

[jacksgirl]

Enjoying HH Comedians, something new to watch dozing off. As a huge fan of the 90 Day Fiancee shows, I get so mad at the tell-alls because it seems like the hosts never have watched the shows. You can tell these comedians are fans.

[kirklandia]

House Hunter - "The kitchen island is too small".

Couch Comedian - "I went to a smaller island on my honeymoon".

[LittleIggy]

The commentary on the Florida HHs with the huge budget were hilarious. Having to walk too far to get to your pool really is the epitome of a First World problem, isn’t it? I liked JB’s “baller” comments. 😆

Edited June 19, 2020 by LittleIggy

[CrazyInAlabama]

The Florida house episode was really old, and I forgot which house they bought.   I had to laugh at the commentary, especially the guest comedian with the 'baller' comments.     The husband was so delusional, with getting the house for $1.3 mil. instead of $1.8, because you know the changes they demanded won't be $300k, but probably more than the $500k they 'saved' on the price.  

The Indianapolis couple are hysterical with their over acting, in the bathroom, and their wish list.   The house hunters have hit every single check list item, with open concept, new appliances, and entertaining space.    I have to laugh at the attic/master on the first home, since as the comedian said, in the summer it will be 9,000 degrees in that attic, and it will.    With all of the water marks in the first house basement, that basement will be unusable.    The 'closet' door is so low the husband couldn't even fit in it.   Since they bought this one, I hope they're happy, but I'm betting they regret it.     

The second house isn't Tudor at all.   The roof gables are hideous.  Gas fireplaces are so efficient, don't pollute, and you never have to buy firewood.  The dining room is a sun porch, and will be unusable a lot of the year from heat, and cold.    (The master bedrooms in the attic are because the original house only had two bedrooms on the ground floor, with the guest bath was the original bathroom. with the basement bath was the spare when you're desperate.   That basement looked icky.    The wife is ridiculous.   If she really wants a flatter roof house in Indianapolis, she's probably going to be surprised with the snow and ice build up, and their flat roof starts leaking, and needs to be replaced fairly often.  

The mid-century house is awful.  No dining space, small living room, lots of wallpaper that needs to be removed, and the bathroom too.    The stacking washer dryer in the bath is awful.    

Edited June 20, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[CruiseDiva]

11 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

The Indianapolis couple are hysterical with their over acting, in the bathroom, and their wish list.   The house hunters have hit every single check list item, with open concept, new appliances, and entertaining space.    I have to laugh at the attic/master on the first home, since as the comedian said, in the summer it will be 9,000 degrees in that attic, and it will.    With all of the water marks in the first house basement, that basement will be unusable.    The 'closet' door is so low the husband couldn't even fit in it.   Since they bought this one, I hope they're happy, but I'm betting they regret it. 

I'm going all Mean Girl... the Indianapolis husband really needed to get himself to an orthodontist before laying out all their funds on a house. Every time he opened his mouth I was grossed out by his teeth.

[laredhead]

Reaching back to the episode of the L.A. attorney buying a 2nd house in Palm Springs, she and her friend (and it seems the realtor as well) were puzzled by no handles on the kitchen cabinets.  I wonder if they had the little hidden cutouts on the bottom of the doors where you can pull the doors open.  I asked for that feature when I redid my kitchen a few years ago.  I wanted a clean look with no hardware on the upper cabinets, but you can open the cabinets by pulling on the doors using the cutouts.  I also thought the realtor's comment about the pool at one of the houses being very deep because it was original.  I bet it probably had a diving board when it was built, but those are never installed now due to safety reasons. 

I would love to visit Palm Springs just to drive around and lust after all of those beautiful houses.

[CrazyInAlabama]

A lot of pool remodels on other Palm Springs house have the pool much shallower.   That way you can have pool volleyball, and no, I'm not kidding about why.   I bet the lack of handles was so the buyer could pick what they want.    My other guess is that since the house hunter already owns the house, they had the cabinets refaced, and hadn't put the hardware on yet, because it was on order. 

Edited June 20, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[CrazyInAlabama]

The Orlando episode last night was interesting.    The mother was going to pay the down payment, but the daughter kept pushing the price up.     The second I saw the barn doors in the third house, I knew that's the one she had bought.     

The second house was a bizarre layout, and the bathroom on that one was awful.   Nothing matched between the wall and floor tiles in the guest bath, and that can't just be covered permanently with painting the wall tiles.    Also, that one had those steps from the sitting / office area in the master, and the main bedroom, and that was bizarre.     I bet that bedroom slider was an issue with water coming in too.    Orlando does get hurricanes, and that wasn't a good idea at all.    The house she bought had the back door very far inset, and covered, and that's a much better configuration.  

I think the mother would only do the down payment of a maximum amount, if a $300k house, and 20% equaling $60k, or whatever the percentage was. 

Edited June 24, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[Gini67]

Omg somebody please say they watched the engaged couple from Columbus Ohio... I had to look away... please do not get married.... he has no say whatsoever... they hate each other!!!

[StatisticalOutlier]

5 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

The second house was a bizarre layout, and the bathroom on that one was awful.   Nothing matched between the wall and floor tiles in the guest bath, and that can't just be covered permanently with painting the wall tiles.   

I try to convince myself that I would be okay with pink and green wall tiles, for example, but even I think that was a mess.  It couldn't all be original, right?

But the bathroom in the house she bought had that toilet sitting between those two long vanities, and I think I'd take the mismatched tile bathroom over that.  It was just weird.

[LittleIggy]

1 hour ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

I try to convince myself that I would be okay with pink and green wall tiles, for example, but even I think that was a mess.  It couldn't all be original, right?

But the bathroom in the house she bought had that toilet sitting between those two long vanities, and I think I'd take the mismatched tile bathroom over that.  It was just weird.

The toilet between the vanities was ridiculous! 😳 Did my ears deceive me or did the HH actually say she was going to paint the bathroom countertops?

[Empress1]

7 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

The Orlando episode last night was interesting.    The mother was going to pay the down payment, but the daughter kept pushing the price up.     The second I saw the barn doors in the third house, I knew that's the one she had bought.     

The second house was a bizarre layout, and the bathroom on that one was awful.   Nothing matched between the wall and floor tiles in the guest bath, and that can't just be covered permanently with painting the wall tiles.    Also, that one had those steps from the sitting / office area in the master, and the main bedroom, and that was bizarre.     I bet that bedroom slider was an issue with water coming in too.    Orlando does get hurricanes, and that wasn't a good idea at all.    The house she bought had the back door very far inset, and covered, and that's a much better configuration.  

It sounded to me like they may have agreed that Mom would pay a percentage, not a set amount. Otherwise I didn’t see why Mom would be like “I’m not putting down on a $350K house.” If Mom was putting down a set amount (say, $20K), how far that goes is her daughter’s problem.

[StatisticalOutlier]

10 minutes ago, Empress1 said:

It sounded to me like they may have agreed that Mom would pay a percentage, not a set amount. Otherwise I didn’t see why Mom would be like “I’m not putting down on a $350K house.” If Mom was putting down a set amount (say, $20K), how far that goes is her daughter’s problem.

Like @CrazyInAlabama, I thought the mother was making the down payment, which from my understanding is a percentage.

[doodlebug]

46 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

The toilet between the vanities was ridiculous! 😳 Did my ears deceive me or did the HH actually say she was going to paint the bathroom countertops?

Yes, indeed, she did.  No wonder her mother was worried about her doing renovations herself.  Painting bathroom countertops is a terrible idea if you are hoping to improve their appearance.  Then again, with the toilet sitting smack in the middle between the vanities, maybe she was hoping to distract attention from that?

23 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Like @CrazyInAlabama, I thought the mother was making the down payment, which from my understanding is a percentage.

Mom did say she was providing the down payment which is usually somewhere from 10-20% of the purchase price.  I figured  mom had a ceiling on that and the daughter would have to come up with additional funds herself if she chose something over the limit mom set.

[Empress1]

12 minutes ago, doodlebug said:

Mom did say she was providing the down payment which is usually somewhere from 10-20% of the purchase price.  I figured  mom had a ceiling on that and the daughter would have to come up with additional funds herself if she chose something over the limit mom set.

Yes, that's what I meant. The mother was very clear that she was making the down payment, but from the way she was talking, it sounded like she had told the daughter "I will put down 20% of the purchase price," not "I will put down $20K." It just sounded to me like the purchase price mattered a lot to Mom; I interpreted that as "the higher it is, the more I'm shelling out, so I'd like to keep it low." Just thought it was interesting.

Mom was right that if the daughter is a first-year associate at a firm of a decent size, she doesn't have time to be DIYing all over the place. The daughter said herself she'd been working a lot, which is par for the course for a young lawyer just starting out.

[Bastet]

3 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Did my ears deceive me or did the HH actually say she was going to paint the bathroom countertops?

I assume they were tile?  I painted (with an epoxy paint designed for this use) my bathroom tile because it was that awful pink some people love but I hate; it was a temporary fix until I get around to renovating the bathroom -- except I still haven't gotten around to it 15 years later.  I will have to get my butt in gear soon, as it's finally starting to peel in the shower and one spot on the countertop.  But for a long time it looked good, especially the white (I did the floor and shower white and the countertop green).  If she uses the right product, it's a good cosmetic fix until she's ready to replace the tile.

[CrazyInAlabama]

Wait until the lawyer finds out how much it will cost to jack hammer the bathroom floor, and move the toilet to the far side, and move around the plumbing for the two sinks.    She's not going to like that bill at all.     

I'm hoping the concrete floor slab doesn't have cables in it. or really bad things can happen. 

I'm guessing that the lawyer (I so thrilled for her she passed the bar exam), being a beginner at DIY, won't get the right product to do the counter tops.   

Edited June 29, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[LittleIggy]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

I assume they were tile?  I painted (with an epoxy paint designed for this use) my bathroom tile because it was that awful pink some people love but I hate; it was a temporary fix until I get around to renovating the bathroom -- except I still haven't gotten around to it 15 years later.  I will have to get my butt in gear soon, as it's finally starting to peel in the shower and one spot on the countertop.  But for a long time it looked good, especially the white (I did the floor and shower white and the countertop green).  If she uses the right product, it's a good cosmetic fix until she's ready to replace the tile.

They didn’t look like tile to me. That’s why I was appalled.

[KLovestoShop]

Just when you think you’ve seen it all, someone comes along to mess with that notion.  I was binging on older HH when I came across one where a woman and her tween age son were looking for a house. I have to say this so you can understand why this show freaked me out.  The woman was a bigger woman——not obese, but just a really hefty lady, 5’9” and stocky.  She does hike and bike with her son, so she’s probably not disabled. Ok, the realtor showed her a house with quite a few steps to get up to the front porch and door.  She didn’t even want to look at it because she said her dog is elderly and can’t do stairs anymore, and she just can’t carry the dog up and down the stairs.  I thought, she probably has something like a Golden, or a German Shepard Dog or some other bigger dog.  When they showed her at the end, in the house she bought, the dog was a Yorkie.  Seriously, a tiny Yorkie. 

[Bastet]

5 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

They didn’t look like tile to me. That’s why I was appalled.

That makes sense - what material did it seem to be, that she intended to paint?

[LittleIggy]

1 hour ago, Bastet said:

That makes sense - what material did it seem to be, that she intended to paint?

I can’t really say (I was kind of distracted by the throne between the two vanities! 😆). It just looked cheap and plain to me.

[CruiseDiva]

21 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Did my ears deceive me or did the HH actually say she was going to paint the bathroom countertops?

The vanity countertops looked like laminate to me. There is a product that can be used to "resurface" laminate to mimic granite. I saw a sample of it at Lowe's and I guess if it is done properly it could look decent for a short term fix.

[doodlebug]

33 minutes ago, CruiseDiva said:

The vanity countertops looked like laminate to me. There is a product that can be used to "resurface" laminate to mimic granite. I saw a sample of it at Lowe's and I guess if it is done properly it could look decent for a short term fix.

It looked like laminate to me, too.  There are a couple of treatments that can be used on laminate.  The ones I've seen just don't look that nice and they tend to chip and crack and look bad really quickly.  I would expect that, due to the humidity, the finish wouldn't last long at all  on a bathroom sink.  The finish looks pretty good from a distance right after it is done:

https://www.diynetwork.com/how-to/rooms-and-spaces/kitchen/how-to-paint-laminate-kitchen-countertops

[CrazyInAlabama]

I think the bathroom counters were the plastic laminate type, and they do have painting kits for them.   However, I think that bathroom section with the sinks, and toilet needed to be gutted, the floor jackhammered.    The toilet needed to be moved to the end, both vanities and counter top, sinks needed to be moved to a single unit with a mirror right above each sink.    It wouldn't be cheap, but the current set up is just bizarre, with the toilet in the middle of the sinks/vanities.   

[LittleIggy]

It seems pointless to me to paint laminate when I bet there are some affordable alternatives for bathroom countertops. And, as noted, that bathroom layout is a joke. The HH needs to start saving to redo the bathroom.

[doodlebug]

Just now, LittleIggy said:

It seems pointless to me to paint laminate when I bet there are some affordable alternatives for bathroom countertops. And, as noted, that bathroom layout is a joke. The HH needs to start saving to redo the bathroom.

Yep, she just started a new job and is working long hours.  Her time is going to be at a premium.  She ought to talk to a contractor and get a plan for fixing the bathroom.  It won't be cheap to move the soil stack, but, IMO. it is well worth it and will pay off both for her enjoyment of her home as well as at resale.  Once she has a ballpark idea of what it will cost to get the bathroom she wants; she can start saving and get 'er done.

As far as I am concerned, painting the laminate isn't going to do much to distract her or anyone else from the toilet sitting in the middle of the space.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I love the new episode tonight in Atlanta, with the woman stating that their budget is $350k, and not a penny more.

She's very emphatic about the north facing issue, and I agree with her on that.   I didn't realize how important it was until I had a house with a garden level (where the windows for the lower level are above ground), and faced South, those rooms had tons of light.   However, my friend down the street had the exact same floor plan, but her garden level faced North, and it was very dark.    

I didn't like the people in Arizona, who had a huge budget, and were showing houses that were way too small for the family, and guest space for the MIL, and other visiting relatives.   When you can easily afford more than $500k, then don't whine about what that gets you.  Good luck with having the place where there is wild space across the street, and nothing behind the house either.    With the wrought iron fence, that means rattlesnakes, scorpions, and all kinds of creatures will be dropping by your home.   Also, that tiny dog would be out of that yard in a heartbeat.   The coyotes will love to say hi to that tiny dog.    I'm betting that the Arizona couple had enough money to buy a house at more than $500K, so they were going to go to their favorite furniture store, and buy everything from scratch.    Or else there are a few storage units full of their stuff, and they'll buy furniture for the whole house, and just move in.   

Edited June 29, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[LittleIggy]

Phoenix: The only individual (not counting the youngest daughter) I liked was the tiny little dog. Three pounds! 💕

[Empress1]

13 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I love the new episode tonight in Atlanta, with the woman stating that their budget is $350k, and not a penny more. She's very emphatic about the north facing issue, and I agree with her on that.   I didn't realize how important it was until I had a house with a garden level (where the windows for the lower level are above ground), and faced South, those rooms had tons of light.   However, my friend down the street had the exact same floor plan, but her garden level faced North, and it was very dark.    

I laughed when the husband was like, so you’re gonna reject a house because it doesn’t sit on the earth’s axis the right way? I liked that they were planning a budget that involved living on one income even though they had two. They’re fortunate to be able to do that. 
I was surprised they went with the house without projects since the wife was an architect.

[chessiegal]

36 minutes ago, Empress1 said:

I was surprised they went with the house without projects since the wife was an architect.

She was an architect? I must have missed that. [/sarcasm]

[LittleIggy]

Fayetteville, AR: I can’t believe her dream kitchen didn’t have a “pot filler“ at the stove. Food scientists don’t make pasta? 😏 That island was the size of an aircraft  carrier! They lived in that RV for a year with three little kids?  😬

[cameron]

On 6/25/2020 at 10:16 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

I love the new episode tonight in Atlanta, with the woman stating that their budget is $350k, and not a penny more.

She's very emphatic about the north facing issue, and I agree with her on that.   I didn't realize how important it was until I had a house with a garden level (where the windows for the lower level are above ground), and faced South, those rooms had tons of light.   However, my friend down the street had the exact same floor plan, but her garden level faced North, and it was very dark.    

I didn't like the people in Arizona, who had a huge budget, and were showing houses that were way too small for the family, and guest space for the MIL, and other visiting relatives.   When you can easily afford more than $500k, then don't whine about what that gets you.  Good luck with having the place where there is wild space across the street, and nothing behind the house either.    With the wrought iron fence, that means rattlesnakes, scorpions, and all kinds of creatures will be dropping by your home.   Also, that tiny dog would be out of that yard in a heartbeat.   The coyotes will love to say hi to that tiny dog.  

Arizona family.  Where is their furniture?  No wonder they were able to move so many times previously.  Big house, no furniture.

Edited June 27, 2020 by cameron

[Babalooie]

Houston couple seemed a little mismatched, if you know what I mean.  All the houses were lovely.  I really liked the New Orleans style.  I wonder which reality show the wife was on?  It must have  been one with a lot of partying, because that's about all she was concerned with.

[NYGirl]

I really didn't like either husband or wife in the Houston episode.  First of all I needed to wear sunglasses because of the glare of her white teeth.  Yikes. 

Both of them seemed so selfish..him with the waterfront and her with the pool.  I didn't like the way they spoke to each other.  Something seemed off.   I love the New Orleans style house too and geez he could walk a block or so to get to his damn boat.  But I do think the first house was their best option...except I didn't realize how much its going to cost to get a pool in due to access for the excavation.

[LittleIggy]

Houston: Why did they need such a huge house? Oh, wait, partying. 🙄

[Zanne]

7 hours ago, Babalooie said:

Houston couple seemed a little mismatched, if you know what I mean. 

 

5 hours ago, NYGirl said:

I didn't like the way they spoke to each other.  Something seemed off. 

So much yes! I was side-eyeing their interaction the whole time. It came across as nerdy guy who got his trophy wife and he was in charge, in a totally creepy way. I was completely unsurprised they bought the within-price house he liked best.  All she had to offer to the conversation was "I want a pool" and "I walk around naked".

[CrazyInAlabama]

I started to watch the Houston episode, but after the first scene, where the couple said what they wanted, including walking around naked, and had to have a pool, and I turned it off.   It doesn't sound like I missed anything. 

[snarts]

Houston wife:  I watch a ton of reality TV yet I couldn't place her.  I was also so shocked to see her overly tweezed pencil thin eyebrows that I double checked to episode description to make sure it wasn't a re-run.  Agree that something was off in their interactions.

[edie3]

3 hours ago, snarts said:

I couldn't place her.

Maybe Lizard Lick Towing?

[chessiegal]

Are y'all saying that Houston wife was on some reality show, or she just seemed like the type? Her comment that oh good, the house has blinds, because I like to walk around naked. News flash bimbo, you can put blinds on any windows.

[buttersister]

Houston wife: They recorded and aired your scenes. Many, many people saw you figuratively naked. It wasn't a good look.

[chocolatine]

Houston couple: did I understand correctly that he saw her on a reality show and chased her for years afterwards? Sounds like she didn't want anything to do with him at first and eventually settled, but maybe I'm reading too much into it.

Also, men who say they have to get a deal on *everything* are a huge pet peeve of mine. I'm all for living within one's means, saving, investing, etc., but I will not have my whole life ruled by money.

[Grrarrggh]

That Dallas mother needs to be told that a pool is 1000 times more dangerous to her children than household stairs. 

[LittleIggy]

8 hours ago, Zanne said:

 

So much yes! I was side-eyeing their interaction the whole time. It came across as nerdy guy who got his trophy wife and he was in charge, in a totally creepy way. I was completely unsurprised they bought the within-price house he liked best.  All she had to offer to the conversation was "I want a pool" and "I walk around naked".

Participation Trophy Wife. 😏

Dallas: I really liked the first house. It’s funny that on a network that has a lot of “flipping” shows, when flipped houses are referred to on HH it is to point out shoddy workmanship.

[Schnickelfritz]

7 hours ago, snarts said:

Houston wife:  I watch a ton of reality TV yet I couldn't place her.  I was also so shocked to see her overly tweezed pencil thin eyebrows that I double checked to episode description to make sure it wasn't a re-run.  Agree that something was off in their interactions.

Just a guess, but is she Natalie Reeves from Beauty and the Geek?

 

8 hours ago, Zanne said:

So much yes! I was side-eyeing their interaction the whole time. It came across as nerdy guy who got his trophy wife and he was in charge, in a totally creepy way. I was completely unsurprised they bought the within-price house he liked best.  All she had to offer to the conversation was "I want a pool" and "I walk around naked".

This made me think of her...