House Hunters - General Discussion

[amarante]

It was obvious the LA HH were going to purchase the first house. It was much nicer and in a better area. I snorted when the realtor said that you could just get on the freeway ha ha - get on the freeway and sit in traffic especially if one has to come in from west of the 405 intersection.

The hill house was just awful and no reason for anyone to purchase it as it didn't have great views; had absolutely no land and was awful inside - dated but without any kind of charm. It was always an ugly house and it had obviously been neglected for years. I wouldn't be surprised if it were either an estate sale or an older couple downsizing. The market for that kind of home was a professional who could renovate it for less money than amateurs - e.g. do it for wholesale - flip and sell for retail.

The first house was pretty standard for the style of home that is being built. The developer purchased a small home that had been built in the 1950's - tore it down and then built the maximum square footage that was permissible. Modern farmhouse is fairly popular now and I don't really mind it as they are good homes to raise a family in and they also tend to blend in better with the character of the older residential homes. For awhile the homes were being replaced (and sometimes still are) with homes that are completely out of scale and form with the rest of the homes. 

[Empress1]

6 hours ago, NYGirl said:

 I guess they wanted to show off their doctorness/wealth to us with such a large house even though they said they weren't having kids.

I found it interesting that the wife kept talking about all the people they'd have over and the husband was like, who? It's just us. It's like on the international version when one person says they need room for guests and the other is like, we moved across the world, ain't nobody coming to visit and we don't have any friends here. IIRC the wife wanted four bedrooms and the husband didn't think they needed that many since they weren't having kids, but didn't all the houses they looked at have more than three bedrooms? One had six.

[CrazyInAlabama]

A lot of home buyers look at resale, and impressing people with the size of their house.     I think the L.A. medical couple wanted the biggest, fanciest home they could afford.    Some people always think about resale, and I think they were.     

[laredhead]

One of the houses the LA couple looked at had 3 bedrooms upstairs and one downstairs.  The downstairs bedroom had a full bath attached, yet the wife was talking about having the guests stay in one of the bedrooms upstairs, and the larger bedroom upstairs would be for the cats because it had more windows.  I was wondering why you would plan to have guests stay upstairs, when they could be far away with a bathroom of their own.  I should stop trying to figure that logic comes into anything some HH's say.  That must have been a really great job offer the husband received to move across the country where the real estate market is so expensive.

[CrazyInAlabama]

The wife was also a nurse practitioner, or physician's assistant, so I'm sure her salary was really high too.  It depends on the specialty I bet.   

 When the wife said she wanted the light filled room for the cats, and a smaller bedroom for guests, I figured that was a decoy house, or else she wants visitors to leave quickly.   

I used to live in a very high cost area (near D.C.) a long time ago.   There were a lot of people who bought huge houses, and it was only for resale, to impress other people, and to look like big wheels.      I knew people who had two story houses, finished basements making it three stories, five or more bedrooms, lots of bathrooms, and they barely went in a lot of the house.   

 

Edited September 9, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[Empress1]

10 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

The wife was also a nurse practitioner, or physician's assistant, so I'm sure her salary was really high too. 

There's been conversation on the Married at First Sight boards about nurse practitioner salaries because one of the people on that show is an NP. I'm guessing low six figures for her. I assume the job the husband took came with a commensurate salary bump from FL to LA.

37 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

A lot of home buyers look at resale, and impressing people with the size of their house.     I think the L.A. medical couple wanted the biggest, fanciest home they could afford. 

I remember one episode where the husband was a CEO and he said he wanted a house that reflected that. (The only reason I remember that episode - I can't even remember where they lived - was that his wife referred to herself as a stay-at-home dog mom, which I found irritating. They didn't mention any children so I assume they either had none or had none at home; they appeared to be in their 50s.) And honestly, I'm not mad at it if they can afford it. IIRC the husband mentioned having company parties at home. My accountant owns his business and sometimes has the holiday party for his staff at his house (though he also has four kids so legit needs the space.)

[BrownBear2012]

This couple got on my last nerve...they both were annoying as hell. She was acting like a spoiled little princess and he was so whiny. I believe she said she was a pediatric nurse practitioner/physician's assistant? He's a pediatrician. I found it kind of funny that they both work with children but don't want any children...that's like a veternarian that doesn't have any pets...weird and a little off putting.

 

 

[Empress1]

9 hours ago, BrownBear2012 said:

I found it kind of funny that they both work with children but don't want any children...that's like a veternarian that doesn't have any pets...weird and a little off putting.

My friend is a teacher who doesn’t want kids. She likes them, she just doesn’t want to raise them.

[Babalooie]

10 hours ago, BrownBear2012 said:

I found it kind of funny that they both work with children but don't want any children...that's like a veternarian that doesn't have any pets...weird and a little off putting.

My children's pediatrician did not have children, but had plenty of time to read, study and be an excellent diagnostician.  He diagnosed my son with Kawasaki's Disease when it was practically unheard of 36 years ago, so YMMV. Maybe that's where the buyer was coming from.

 

 

[BrownBear2012]

6 hours ago, Empress1 said:

My friend is a teacher who doesn’t want kids. She likes them, she just doesn’t want to raise them.

That makes sense...teaching kids today could definitely sour you on having any of your own LOL!

4 hours ago, Babalooie said:

My children's pediatrician did not have children, but had plenty of time to read, study and be an excellent diagnostician.  He diagnosed my son with Kawasaki's Disease when it was practically unheard of 36 years ago, so YMMV. Maybe that's where the buyer was coming from.

 

 

I did not say that their choice to not have children would make them bad clinicians...I just found it unusual for two people who work as pediatric health providers would be childless. That is all.

[CrazyInAlabama]

The North Carolina couple last night was kind of interesting.    I have no idea what the wife did that involved clients (the realtor was a client of the wife), and the husband was a pastor.    She wanted a Craftsman, and the only feature I saw that looked even remotely like that were the pillars on the one house.     They certainly had a healthy budget $375,000.   I knew after the wife's checklist that they would buy the first house, because it had the mud room with enough cubbies for the kids, and the other two houses didn't.     The husband wanting modern was absurd in that area (Raleigh maybe?).   Maybe you could get modern there, if you bought your own land and built, and had a much bigger budget.     The third house needed a ton of work, and it wasn't cheap enough for the couple to do that.    

[Spunkygal]

57 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

The North Carolina couple last night was kind of interesting.    I have no idea what the wife did that involved clients (the realtor was a client of the wife), and the husband was a pastor.    She wanted a Craftsman, and the only feature I saw that looked even remotely like that were the pillars on the one house.     They certainly had a healthy budget $375,000.   I knew after the wife's checklist that they would buy the first house, because it had the mud room with enough cubbies for the kids, and the other two houses didn't.     The husband wanting modern was absurd in that area (Raleigh maybe?).   Maybe you could get modern there, if you bought your own land and built, and had a much bigger budget.     The third house needed a ton of work, and it wasn't cheap enough for the couple to do that.    

The wife said she is a hair stylist. 

[KLovestoShop]

The LA couple were idiots.  I mean, they didn’t seem to know how to open a gate, and her “I don’t see any coyotes” comments were stupid.  I lived in Arizona and I saw them a lot.  My cousin and his partner lived in the Hollywood Hills and had coyotes all the time. Her extremely limited knowledge on how much things cost with renovations was irritating. 
 

Someone give that girl a side of beef and see if she would like to play a Munchkin in any remake of the Wizard of Oz.

[CrazyInAlabama]

2 hours ago, Spunkygal said:

The wife said she is a hair stylist. 

Thanks, I missed it last night. 

Just because you don't see coyotes in broad daylight on one afternoon, then that doesn't follow that coyotes aren't around. 

Edited September 10, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[Grrarrggh]

7 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

She wanted a Craftsman, and the only feature I saw that looked even remotely like that were the pillars on the one house.     

I am so sick of these hunters who claim to love a Craftsman and desperately want one when their favourite house has maybe 2 tiny Craftsman-like details on the outside and nothing inside. UGH!! That is NOT a Craftsman!!!

[chessiegal]

Oy, Miss Ohio State. It's a good thing "literally" was not literally a drinking game. So holier than thou with her patting herself on the back for wanting less. 

[edie3]

29 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

So holier than thou with her patting herself on the back for wanting less. 

But she wanted to entertain and had a king size bed. Make up your mind.

[nb360]

1 hour ago, edie3 said:

But she wanted to entertain and had a king size bed. Make up your mind.

Yes, there was a lot about her thought process that I didn't understand. How will her dog be able to run around in one of the condos? And why the emphasis on not having extra space?

edited to add: Ok, apparently she was concerned about her carbon footprint, which I get. 

Edited September 11, 2020 by nb360

[LittleIggy]

1 hour ago, chessiegal said:

Oy, Miss Ohio State. It's a good thing "literally" was not literally a drinking game. So holier than thou with her patting herself on the back for wanting less. 

I didn’t like the place she picked. I liked the single family house with the big yard for the dog (a sighthound of some kind but not a greyhound).

[absnow54]

7 hours ago, edie3 said:

But she wanted to entertain and had a king size bed. Make up your mind.

And the place she chose, she put in a giant table instead of a couch, so she had to entertain in her bedroom with two huge beds. 

[Empress1]

7 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

I didn’t like the place she picked. I liked the single family house with the big yard for the dog (a sighthound of some kind but not a greyhound).

I get why she didn’t pick it since it was the same size as the place she was renting and she wanted to downsize, but I didn’t like the place she picked either. If you want to entertain, you need a little space. The third place she saw was 1100 square feet, which would have been a nice compromise. She didn’t event have a couch. I think one of her friends said something about not hanging out there, because she replied “We’re hanging out here now!” She also talked about having guests stay, and she’d crammed a second bed in the loft ... it just didn’t seem like she was using the space well. Having a mortgage that’s half what your rent was is impressive though.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I hope it was a ground floor condo, because many HOA's prohibit dogs over a certain size, and the neighbors won't stand for doggy running noise.  

[absnow54]

1 hour ago, Empress1 said:

She didn’t event have a couch. I think one of her friends said something about not hanging out there, because she replied “We’re hanging out here now!” She also talked about having guests stay, and she’d crammed a second bed in the loft ... it just didn’t seem like she was using the space well.

I imagine every time her friends are looking to plan an event, she’ll offer to host, and they’ll have to politely convince her why friend x’s place is the better choice. Nobody looked like they wanted to pregame mimosas at her place before brunch ever again. 

[NYGirl]

I was shocked that she picked that first condo - 800 sq feet???  No yard for the "grey"hound?  No place for a couch?  I spit my coffee out when I saw all those girls in the loft sitting on her bed.  That was crazy!

She complained about the yard in the one family but at least she had a garage.  The house was really nice.  She could have cemented part of the yard and planted some bushes and put some gravel...voila..not a lot of yard work.  Or hire a landscaper for $30 a month to mow it. 

There were so many things wrong with last night's episode;

[buttersister]

Left to her own devices, it's not surprising which place she picked. Seeing better choices during this "hunt"  likely gave her some buyer's remorse--so we have that.

[cameron]

5 hours ago, absnow54 said:

And the place she chose, she put in a giant table instead of a couch, so she had to entertain in her bedroom with two huge beds. 

Thought that she was whacko.

[chessiegal]

6 minutes ago, cameron said:

Thought that she was whacko.

And that's being charitable. My husband commented she seemed like she didn't want to leave the college life.

[LittleIggy]

Columbus: Seems none of the HH’s college pals wanted to play the sassy, opinionated friend who goes househunting with her. 😏

[Sheikh Yerbouti]

14 hours ago, nb360 said:

Yes, there was a lot about her thought process that I didn't understand. How will her dog be able to run around in one of the condos? And why the emphasis on not having extra space?

edited to add: Ok, apparently she was concerned about her carbon footprint, which I get. 

I found it amusing that someone who worked for a major oil and gas company was concerned about her carbon footprint. It's like a vegetarian butcher. I think she described her job as environmental compliance, which in my mind means having your arm twisted by the government not to completely destroy the world. But maybe she actually helps her company find more sustainable ways to operate, in line with her beliefs? Who knows. On to the houses. I would have gone for the single-family. She thought the neighborhood (where she was already renting) was great but too quiet. To me, that type of location (accessible to lots of city amenities but not right in the middle of all the noise and grime) is a feature, not a flaw. Plus the whole thing about a detached house being a better long-term investment. I didn't like either of the condos and definitely would not have picked the first one. 

15 hours ago, Grrarrggh said:

I am so sick of these hunters who claim to love a Craftsman and desperately want one when their favourite house has maybe 2 tiny Craftsman-like details on the outside and nothing inside. UGH!! That is NOT a Craftsman!!!

I blame HH production for that. It's scripted. I am convinced that the hunters are forced to argue about styles under duress, and they absolutely are aware that it makes them sound silly. HH production feels obligated to categorize every home as either a Craftsman or a colonial, with the occasional mid-century modern thrown in, and 98% of the homes featured are none of these. I guess "generic new build" or "tract housing ranch" are not appealing style names. I'm still laughing at a recent DC-area episode where they described brand new, open-concept construction as a Victorian.

Edited September 11, 2020 by Sheikh Yerbouti

[Empress1]

21 minutes ago, Sheikh Yerbouti said:

I think she described her job as environmental compliance, which in my mind means having your arm twisted by the government not to completely destroy the world. But maybe she actually helps her company find more sustainable ways to operate, in line with her beliefs?

Environmental compliance means she makes sure her company is adhering to environmental laws, regulations, and standards. I know lawyers who work in compliance in various industries.

24 minutes ago, Sheikh Yerbouti said:

She thought the neighborhood (where she was already renting) was great but too quiet. To me, that type of location (accessible to lots of city amenities but not right in the middle of all the noise and grime) is a feature, not a flaw

She was definitely about the single party life. I think the place she bought was close to OSU, which clearly mattered a lot to her. I can understand buying a condo, I just didn't really understand buying that condo. If she ever wants to live with another person, it's not going to work. Maybe it's rentable - if she's near campus she could rent it out to a student.

[edie3]

A question about that one condo. Is it routine to have a second entrance like that? I would not like that at all. 

[CruiseDiva]

7 hours ago, cameron said:

Thought that she was whacko.

She should have kept the couch and sold that big dining table. Wack-a-doodle girl's friends aren't going to want to party there. I can hear them making excuses to get together elsewhere.

[javajeanelaine]

I didn't catch that the NC husband was a pastor.  He was incredibly unlikeable for such a people centric career.

[BrownBear2012]

10 hours ago, chessiegal said:

And that's being charitable. My husband commented she seemed like she didn't want to leave the college life.

Your husband is right! That's exactly what I thought...she's 28 and still wanting to play beer pong and have her weekends revolve around football games? Wow...and she had complaints about every single thing in every single place she looked at...what a kvetch!

[Twiz44]

Re Miss OSU...Hoping I’m not sounding like a “get off my lawn” old lady, but it really annoys me when millennials speak so arrogantly as if they know it all and have it all figured out at the seasoned age of 28. 

[amarante]

On 9/11/2020 at 1:20 PM, edie3 said:

A question about that one condo. Is it routine to have a second entrance like that? I would not like that at all. 

No - it's very atypical especially since the entrance was so oddly placed. Some expensive apartments have what are called service entrances which are doors which open into the kitchen area typically and which also open onto separate stairs/elevators which are used for service and deliveries.

I sometimes wonder what is going on when all of the choices are so terrible. The single family home was nice but I can understand why a single family home isn't a desirable option for many people. I don't want one even and deliberately chose a high rise versus a single family home. Also the area might be questionable  - there was an article on homes for $250,000 in various locations and what looked as if it were a lovely "flip" turned out to be located in a neighborhood that had a lot of crime.

However, surely there had to be better options in terms of condos in Columbus. The one she chose was truly unlivable in my opinion. Beyond being small to the point of really not having space for normal living, wasn't there only one bathroom - which meant that either your guests have to walk up to a loft or you have to trot down to the first floor.

The third condo was also a ghastly choice for the reasons stated in posts above.

[laredhead]

I think the 3rd condo in Columbus was planned for roommates where one could have a private entrance off the garage (?).  The buyer stated that the arrangement looked like 2 different condos stacked on top of each other. 

I hated the place she bought.  That looked like a hotel suite for a weekend or an extended stay place.  I feel sorry for her poor dog.  No place to run.  She also mentioned a cat early in the program, but there was no evidence of a cat.  I can't imagine living there with a big dog, and a cat.  Yes, she should have gotten rid of that table and put a sofa downstairs.  How weird to have guests troop upstairs to sit on your bed(s) as an entertainment option.

[KLovestoShop]

On 9/11/2020 at 10:51 PM, javajeanelaine said:

I didn't catch that the NC husband was a pastor.  He was incredibly unlikeable for such a people centric career.

He is a pastor, but with all his tats and her nose ring, they’re not any kind of a church couple I’ve ever known.  He was definitely not very likeable  and his comment that light fixture wasn’t centered over the table was weird.  Guess what?  You move the table so it’s centered under the chandelier. And he didn’t like that the houses weren’t his style. 

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 9/7/2020 at 2:02 PM, Mittengirl said:

You don’t have to be elderly to have mobility issues.  Spoken as a congenital amputee.  

Does that mean born without certain limbs?  If so, would that still be considered an "amputee," if there wasn't anything to be amputated?

 

On 9/8/2020 at 8:56 PM, Sheikh Yerbouti said:

A voice for radio is a real thing that should be respected in the podcast world.

Shoot, NPR doesn't even respect it for the radio world.

 

On 9/9/2020 at 2:23 PM, amarante said:

I snorted when the realtor said that you could just get on the freeway ha ha - get on the freeway and sit in traffic especially if one has to come in from west of the 405 intersection.

I was wondering if anyone else caught that.  I snorted too.

 

On 9/12/2020 at 12:27 PM, Twiz44 said:

Re Miss OSU...Hoping I’m not sounding like a “get off my lawn” old lady, but it really annoys me when millennials speak so arrogantly as if they know it all and have it all figured out at the seasoned age of 28. 

I can't say I liked her, but I did like her confidence.  And when she said "cool beans" when they were leaving one of the houses. 

 

21 hours ago, laredhead said:

How weird to have guests troop upstairs to sit on your bed(s) as an entertainment option.

I figured they were reverting back to their sorority days, gathering on someone's bed. 

[Grrarrggh]

On 9/12/2020 at 2:27 PM, Twiz44 said:

Re Miss OSU...Hoping I’m not sounding like a “get off my lawn” old lady, but it really annoys me when millennials speak so arrogantly as if they know it all and have it all figured out at the seasoned age of 28. 

Well, considering what Boomers have done to the country....... 😉 (only half kidding, every generation says this about the previous/last generation)

[snarts]

Long Beach to San Diego, moving from a such a small home to a multi-million dollar property. I had to google them and  how that 4 book plan got them there. 

Jamil Frazier https://www.amazon.com/Jamil-Frazier/e/B084P99ZTV%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share

[edie3]

I rarely say Holy shit when watching House Hunters, but those houses! I am off to write a book.

Edited September 17, 2020 by edie3

[WI GIRL56]

San Diego couple.  No words.  Good for them.  They actually seemed very likable.  The houses were amazing.   I was checking out his Facebook page during the show and could tell from pics on there which one they picked.

[Grizzly]

Did they really need 6000 sq ft to have what they wanted? Buy a smaller house and have the office sound proofed. How is the mother going to constantly see all 3 kids in there? And when I hear "farmstyle kitchen", I picture a water pump.

[Spunkygal]

1 hour ago, Grizzly said:

Did they really need 6000 sq ft to have what they wanted? Buy a smaller house and have the office sound proofed. How is the mother going to constantly see all 3 kids in there? And when I hear "farmstyle kitchen", I picture a water pump.

I guess he’s going to have wellness retreats on the property/guest house and use part of it as a tax write-off?  I don’t know how those things work.

[CrazyInAlabama]

The newlyweds in Asheville are irritating me a lot.    The wife's voice is vocal fry at it's worst.  The wife wants newer, and move-in ready, and the husband keeps telling her about the poor craftsmanship in the house.   I think they need separate homes, vintage for him, and new for her.   

So the vintage home kitchen needs new counter tops and back splash.   You remove the counter tops, and back splash one day, put the new counter tops on the next day, and start the tiling, then grout on the next day.   Then change out the cabinet knobs and handles.  

Edited September 18, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[Scarlett45]

7 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

The newlyweds in Asheville are irritating me a lot.    The wife's voice is vocal fry at it's worst.  The wife wants newer, and move-in ready, and the husband keeps telling her about the poor craftsmanship in the house.   I think they need separate homes, vintage for him, and new for her.   

So the vintage home kitchen needs new counter tops and back splash.   You remove the counter tops, and back splash one day, put the new counter tops on the next day, and start the tiling, then grout on the next day.   Then change out the cabinet knobs and handles.  

She’s annoyingly me too!! Going on about her curly hair and her hair products- ummm maybe buy a little cart from Home Goods like so many have done before!!!

[NYGirl]

Yes!!  Annoying vocal fry... and a hipster looking husband.  New build always wins out.

I knew it was that one when he was commenting about how well it was put together contrary to his complaining about new builds at the beginning.

[chessiegal]

I found the Asheville wife's voice to be nasally. She sure was full of herself.

[Twiz44]

Watching “Miss Vocal Fry”. I was thinking that if I needed a psychologist and she was the only one in my network, I’d pay out-of-pocket. Can you imagine paying to listen to her? I’d leave her office with a new neurosis.