House Hunters - General Discussion

[Grrarrggh]

I've jumped into my Tardis for a trip to the future and am already laughing at the shouts of "needs a gut job!" "we need some walls!" "this is sooo 2020!" on HGTV House Hunters 2030. 

[Grizzly]

Naples, FL. They have been married 13 years, have 4 kids, and live with 3 of them. One of whom is 19. So many questions that interest me more than which house they pick. Maybe in 10 years husband can get a house on the water.

[amarante]

I would imagine Naples couple's children who don't live there are older and his wife has primary custody although the 19 year old could be his son who wants to live in Naples. If they moved from Tennessee to Florida, I would assume the other children stayed behind.

The younger children are probably bio children of the marriage given their age.

Whenever the husband is in the construction trade, there are two cliched storylines - either he doesn't want to do construction because he wants his weekend free or he wants a fixer upper and the wife doesn't want to live in a construction zone. 

I am never shocked when they get the house that needs renovation - generally very drastic expensive remodeling because the reality is that professionals in the industry can do the construction work for wholesale so it makes no sense for them to pay for another company's remodeling efforts.

And spare me the ridiculous kvetching that they don't want to work on the weekend. In what universe do they expect anyone to believe they are going to renovate the home part time on the weekends. They will bring in their crews and have it done like any other homeowner who is doing remodeling. You put up a shelf on the weekend - you don't attempt to gut remodel kitchens and baths on the weekend. 

 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I agreed about passing on the third house.    That giant pylon in the back yard, and the swampy water behind the house were deal breakers for me.        Also, they may not come through very often, but if the power company needs to inspect or work on the pole, and wires, they're going to drive right in that back yard.    I bet that pole attracts lightning too (Florida #1 for lightning). 

Edited March 12, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[ByaNose]

1 hour ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I agreed about passing on the third house.    That giant pylon in the back yard, and the swampy water behind the house were deal breakers for me.     

It was funny how no one noticed the huge giant pole at first. I don’t even think I saw it and then they showed it and I’m like, “I’m out!”. LOL!!!! I was glad they didn’t try to convince each other (even it was fake) that it wouldn’t be bad to have this huge pole in your back yard. Good luck to the actual person who does. No way! No How!  

[40Love]

21 hours ago, amarante said:

And spare me the ridiculous kvetching that they don't want to work on the weekend. In what universe do they expect anyone to believe they are going to renovate the home part time on the weekends. They will bring in their crews and have it done like any other homeowner who is doing remodeling.

Yep... the guy even admitted it at the very end. He said something like "The truth is I'm not going to be doing the actual work:. Heh!

[CrazyInAlabama]

On OWN's marathon of reruns, the theme seems to be shows rebranded as HH, but were actually Beach episodes.    The woman hunting in Gulfport, MS was a recycled Beach one, and the Key West episode looks like the same.  

They have done this before, taking a Beach or Hawaii or Lake or Mexico, etc. episode, and turning it into a HH episode.   I've seen the Gulfport one at least twice before.     They also used to take a HHI episode, and reshow it under the Mexico, or other series title.   

The Key West episode was about $350k for the budget.    The real giveaway is when the house hunter says at the end "anyone can live at the beach, if you want".   

I finally watched the Tulsa episode, where the couple had been outbid on a previous house.    House number one was older, had almost no back yard, but needed a few fixups, the hanging lights in the master bath, and living room were awful, but an easy fix.       

The second home is a totally redone older home, but the long kitchen has a sloping floor, which the realtor says 'you have to expect that in an older home' (my rule is if a home has foundation issues, walk or even better, run away from it).   The sellers have a raised back porch, and no railing.    The man is tall, and can't even walk upright in the 'office' upstairs area (sloping ceilings), and it's only two bedrooms.    

They went with the new place, that's not close to downtown, over their budget.    Why was the wife looking for "Parisian Contemporary" in Tulsa?   

Edited March 14, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[chessiegal]

1 hour ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

On OWN's marathon of reruns, the theme seems to be shows rebranded as HH, but were actually Beach episodes.    The woman hunting in Gulfport, MS was a recycled Beach one, and the Key West episode looks like the same.  

The ones I'm seeing are season 161, and show as reruns. I wonder if at some point, they took old HH and made them into beach shows. What prices are they looking at?

[chessiegal]

The one in Washington State looks like a Beachfront Bargain Hunt since the agent isn't going into the house. It's listed as HH episode 9 season161 with an original air date of Nov 8, 2018.

ETA: Found it - Season 16, ep 3 of Beachfront Bargain Hunt, original air date of Aug 27, 2017.

Looks like they've been doing this rehashing for awhile, not just during the pandemic.

Edited March 13, 2021 by chessiegal

[KLovestoShop]

It drives me nuts when HH’ers move from one part of the country to another and they expect to find houses just like they used to own.  You can’t move from Maine to Arizona and expect to find Cape Cod homes.  And the Naples woman isn’t going to find a farm-style house in Florida.  The “waterfront” house was not what I was expecting.  It looked like a swamp that probably contains lots of nasty critters. 

[BrownBear2012]

On 3/9/2021 at 10:31 PM, Grizzly said:

Amelia Island. You have a mini dachshund, not a Great Dane. You don't need a big yard. So surprised they didn't choose close to the beach. Why is it whenever a kitchen looks like mine, people say they need to gut it?

This couple...they seemed to fit the current pattern of husband /wife he wants a fixer upper, she wants a new build or a home that doesn't need fixing. The beach house was pretty old and needed a ton of work. I can understand not wanting to go that way but the location was really great. The first house looked dark and dreary. The new build they bought was nice but I wonder how they are liking all the noise and incovenience of the all the construction on their street.

[KLovestoShop]

11 hours ago, BrownBear2012 said:

This couple...they seemed to fit the current pattern of husband /wife he wants a fixer upper, she wants a new build or a home that doesn't need fixing. The beach house was pretty old and needed a ton of work. I can understand not wanting to go that way but the location was really great. The first house looked dark and dreary. The new build they bought was nice but I wonder how they are liking all the noise and incovenience of the all the construction on their street.

But in the long run, the construction noise/dirt will be over in less than a year.  A few months of inconvenience is fine if you find a house you love.  I’d rather buy in a place where you know things will be finished in due time, rather than buy a house with a lot of traffic at all hours of the day and night.  

[Grizzly]

Atlanta. This realtor is very good. I wouldn't be able to deal with the wife. But he was quick to say they'd save on utilities when she said not enough sunlight at #1. Then at #3 when she complained about not knowing what to do with the space, he said it allowed her to be creative and wow their guests. I liked the sparkly light but it hung too low. Wow they picked new construction, guess she doesn't wear the pants.

[LittleIggy]

25 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

Atlanta. This realtor is very good. I wouldn't be able to deal with the wife. But he was quick to say they'd save on utilities when she said not enough sunlight at #1. Then at #3 when she complained about not knowing what to do with the space, he said it allowed her to be creative and wow their guests. I liked the sparkly light but it hung too low. Wow they picked new construction, guess she doesn't wear the pants.

Yeah, really! It was pretty but you would hit your head on it all the time.  I would just raise it up higher.

[Empress1]

21 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Atlanta. This realtor is very good. I wouldn't be able to deal with the wife. But he was quick to say they'd save on utilities when she said not enough sunlight at #1. Then at #3 when she complained about not knowing what to do with the space, he said it allowed her to be creative and wow their guests.

The realtor was cute AND good at his job, and he looked tall. Just my type! Call me, ATL realtor! (The husband was cute too. I thought they were a cute couple.) 

My best friend is from Marietta, where the third house was. The wife hit on what I hate about open floor plans - where do you put stuff? Where do I hang my pictures or put my bookcases?

[chessiegal]

My husband declared the Atlanta wife "terrible". I told him I'd give her a break because she took the HH script and ran with about all of it for her tv moment of fame. This is another way you can tell HH from repackaged other HGTV shows. On Island Life, etc. there isn't as much he wants/she wants, and the hunters are usually saying nicer things about the properties.

[Nonie]

On 2/4/2021 at 5:53 PM, chocolatine said:

The Atlanta episode had an "in memory of Selena" dedication at the end. Does anyone know anything about that? The HHs said in the beginning that their four-year-old grandson lives with them because their daughter (his mother) is in the military. I hope it's not the daughter who passed away, though of course it's sad either way.

I just watched the episode and I too, was curious.

Here's what I found: https://www.11alive.com/article/life/a-familys-loss-the-pandemic-made-their-most-painful-moment-that-much-harder/85-a70e87ff-f4e0-4ed3-ac85-38b1d988bcbe

[Grizzly]

Speaking of repackaged, tonight's "new" episode in NJ is definitely an old Beach Hunters. We do get to see 4 houses.

[chessiegal]

19 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

Speaking of repackaged, tonight's "new" episode in NJ is definitely an old Beach Hunters. We do get to see 4 houses.

It's a repackaged Beachfront Bargain Hunt. The production company was Magilla.

ETA: Beach Hunters is produced by Warm Springs Productions

Edited March 18, 2021 by chessiegal

[cameron]

8 hours ago, chessiegal said:

It's a repackaged Beachfront Bargain Hunt. The production company was Magilla.

ETA: Beach Hunters is produced by Warm Springs Productions

Buyer was certainly an old looking 30 year old.  Thinking they fudge on her real age.  She is certainly joined at the hip to her parents and family.  Seems like they do everything together.  Good luck in ever finding a man who will want to marry into this type of arrangement.

Edited March 18, 2021 by cameron

[snarts]

NJ: it was refreshing in that she didn't expect too much in the way finishes. $260-350K for waterfront property with a boat dock seemed more than reasonable as well.  I personally wouldn't mind spending time on many of those patios.  How far is Wareton from Philly? 🙂

[cameron]

12 minutes ago, snarts said:

NJ: it was refreshing in that she didn't expect too much in the way finishes. $260-350K for waterfront property with a boat dock seemed more than reasonable as well.  I personally wouldn't mind spending time on many of those patios.  How far is Wareton from Philly? 🙂

She actually works in the New York area.

[Dehumidifier]

Waretown NJ.  How soon they forget. There have been quite a few Jersey Shore episodes where the buyer wants to be right on the water and I think "Don't you remember Superstorm Sandy? Go back a few blocks. Like twenty!!!!!"  Especially the people who don't need a dock. Did they really say she was thirty? I was wondering. She had a great figure but her face looked older. I guess it could be skin damage from the years of sun and sea they kept talking about.

[cameron]

11 minutes ago, Dehumidifier said:

Waretown NJ.  How soon they forget. There have been quite a few Jersey Shore episodes where the buyer wants to be right on the water and I think "Don't you remember Superstorm Sandy? Go back a few blocks. Like twenty!!!!!"  Especially the people who don't need a dock. Did they really say she was thirty? I was wondering. She had a great figure but her face looked older. I guess it could be skin damage from the years of sun and sea they kept talking about.

They did say she was 30.  Hard to believe by her appearance.  She could have been her Mother's sister.

[Pine]

NJ Beach, the buyer talked so slowly and kept repeating she has saved all her life to purchase a beach house.  Cute family though.

Did anyone notice house 3 and 4 were next to one another?

[Dehumidifier]

3 hours ago, Pine said:

NJ Beach, the buyer talked so slowly and kept repeating she has saved all her life to purchase a beach house.  Cute family though.

Did anyone notice house 3 and 4 were next to one another?

If she paid cash that is pretty impressive. Though she did start at birth. Banks used to pay interest.

Didn't notice. The last one house was cute on the inside, but I thought ugly on the inside.

Bet those homes belonged to friends of the family.

I couldn't really tell if she planned to live at the beach full time.

Edited March 18, 2021 by Dehumidifier

[Grizzly]

Denver. Adam should consider going into acting. He had me convinced he wouldn't move or have kids. Nice houses, I don't think there was a wrong decision. Their place was fabulous so I can see why Adam was reluctant to leave.

[cameron]

13 hours ago, Dehumidifier said:

If she paid cash that is pretty impressive. Though she did start at birth. Banks used to pay interest.

Didn't notice. The last one house was cute on the inside, but I thought ugly on the inside.

Bet those homes belonged to friends of the family.

I couldn't really tell if she planned to live at the beach full time.

She lives with her parents.  That's where the money came from.  

[Dehumidifier]

1 hour ago, cameron said:

She lives with her parents.  That's where the money came from.  

Yeah, I got  that. I've known people who lived with their parents and didn't save money. 

[ByaNose]

On 3/18/2021 at 8:54 AM, snarts said:

NJ: it was refreshing in that she didn't expect too much in the way finishes. $260-350K for waterfront property with a boat dock seemed more than reasonable as well.  I personally wouldn't mind spending time on many of those patios.  How far is Wareton from Philly? 🙂

I’ve had never heard of Waretown until HH. Anyway, per Goggle Philadelphia (about 25 minutes from me) is about and hour and nine minutes from Waretown. I’m more of a beach person than a bay person but I did like the view she had. Perfect way to end the day with a sunset and cocktail. 

[NYGirl]

There's something to be said about binge watching all day on OWN.  I've read that you guys do it but I'm always busy binge watching something else.  So a couple of hours ago I took a time out from Chicago PD to watch.  Not a good idea.

I'm actually annoyed at HG for making these HHs look like idiots.  For example, Bakersfield California.  Every time I see Calif on HH the houses are pretty expensive.  Is Bakersfield not expensive at all?  Their budget was $275,000 and they wanted the world!!!  A pool....5 bedrooms...open concept, 3 bathrooms and of course a white kitchen.  God I wanted to punch them.. They did end up with 5 bedrooms but no pool.  I thought the husband would have a kniption.

I was definitely saved by a nice older couple buying a vinyard in Loomis.  The houses and vinyards were so beautiful to look at.  I loved the whole episode.  Their budget was $1 million. 

Next we go to Detroit for another delusional couple with a $275,000 budget.  The realtor showed them three houses in the $180,000 category and yet they wanted so much more.  God forbid we drive 15 minutes to the office even though it's probably once a month that we actually go in.  But he definitely needed a 2 car garage and she had to have 4 bedrooms for kids they didn't have yet.  She also had to have a pantry and 2 living areas.  I rolled my eyes at them too

I really need to not binge watch.  Everyone annoys me.

 

 

 

 

[CrazyInAlabama]

The best part of Saturday's OWN marathon reruns is that the first couple of hours were recycled beachfront episodes. 

Edited March 21, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[chessiegal]

At first when I wanted to know which other HGTV show had been repackaged as "new" for HH, I did a lot of googling on the show location. Then I realized it's easier to just see which production company is listed at the end.

Here is a primer of the production companies:

HH- Pie Town, HHI -Leopard USA, Beachfront Bargain Hunt - Magilla, Lakefront Bargain Hunt - Magilla, Island Life - Left/Right, Hawaii Life -  Left/Right, Beach Hunters - Warm Springs Productions.

There are other house hunting shows on Discovery channels that I've yet to see on HGTV, mostly on Great America Country (GAC) and Discover America - Log Cabin Living, Living Alaska, and several others.

 

[Grizzly]

On 3/21/2021 at 10:24 AM, chessiegal said:

There are other house hunting shows on Discovery channels that I've yet to see on HGTV, mostly on Great America Country (GAC) and Discover America - Log Cabin Living, Living Alaska, and several others.

 

I love Living Alaska! The types of homes they feature is so different from what we normally see. The way they live would freak out our entitled HH-ers. But I would need to be on city water to have normal facilities.

[Grizzly]

Sonoma Valley. I just can't with this couple. It's mostly envy of their budget. Who bases where they want to live on a childhood movie?

[Kiddvideo]

San Francisco couple looking in Sonoma: I liked them well enough, but it seems like quite an emotional buy. “Parent Trap was my favorite movie growing up, and we like wine...let’s buy a vineyard...for our weekend home!” I didn’t realize there were independent vineyards were out there. I guess they sell the grapes to wineries and that’s how the farm supports itself? Or am I going to walk into a liquor store and see their names on a label?

[chessiegal]

1 minute ago, Kiddvideo said:

I guess they sell the grapes to wineries and that’s how the farm supports itself? Or am I going to walk into a liquor store and see their names on a label?

Yes, they'll sell their grapes. They even mentioned it during the show. The house with the 4 small rows of grapevines was recreational.

[Kiddvideo]

5 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

Yes, they'll sell their grapes. They even mentioned it during the show. The house with the 4 small rows of grapevines was recreational.

Guess I didn’t hear that part. Thanks.

[Grrarrggh]

Those Sonoma buyers must come from money, so of course it's no risk to up and decide to buy a vineyard. ☹️

[cameron]

7 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Sonoma Valley. I just can't with this couple. It's mostly envy of their budget. Who bases where they want to live on a childhood movie?

Perfect example of young people with too much money on hand and not enough street smarts.

[40Love]

12 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Sonoma Valley. I just can't with this couple. It's mostly envy of their budget. Who bases where they want to live on a childhood movie?

He didn't bother me so much because he seemed to be the more reasonable of the two... just trying to placate his silly wife. Hope his  sensibility keeps them on track. 

[I Want My MBTV]

7 hours ago, cameron said:

Sonoma Valley. I just can't with this couple. It's mostly envy of their budget. Who bases where they want to live on a childhood movie?

I'm glad it wasn't just me!  I couldn't take them either.  Also, I understand they both have good jobs but how do you afford rent for even a 1 bedroom apartment (which looked quite nice) in San Francisco PLUS a $1M mortgage for a weekend house?   One or both have to have had parent money as well.  Don't get me started on the whole vineyard thing....  looks like that will be yet another expense but clearly money is meaningless to them.

[NYGirl]

I'm with all of you as far as the price point jealousy and the stupidity of a childhood movie home.

However, I like that there was no drama, whining or complaining.  No..."where's my white cabinets?" and all those annoying HG wants/needs.

I liked the Maryland/Virginia couple.  They were just so cute.

[Angeltoes]

4 hours ago, I Want My MBTV said:

Also, I understand they both have good jobs but how do you afford rent for even a 1 bedroom apartment (which looked quite nice) in San Francisco PLUS a $1M mortgage for a weekend house? 

Not to mention all the upgrades they wanted to do to the house.  $$$$

[chessiegal]

OMG! We're only a few minutes into the Chicago episode and she's got plastic on her furniture!

[NYGirl]

Chicago...can she be more annoying?  The realtor lists all the amenities and she's like...well they're not doing anything for me.

She's a nonstop talker and has nothing nice to say about any of the apartments.

I don't care what she picks.  I'm going to bed.

BTW her friend is so cute!  Both him and realtor are trying to talk sense into her.  In one ear...out the other.  

[Grizzly]

4 minutes ago, NYGirl said:

Chicago...can she be more annoying?  The realtor lists all the amenities and she's like...well they're not doing anything for me.

She's a nonstop talker and has nothing nice to say about any of the apartments.

I don't care what she picks.  I'm going to bed.

BTW her friend is so cute!  Both him and realtor are trying to talk sense into her.  In one ear...out the other.  

She picked the first one because of the amenities and view. Have to admit that was a view worth every penny. But that HOA is going to be a killer. Are we betting she never uses the gym, spa or sauna?

[kirklandia]

On 3/23/2021 at 7:40 PM, Grizzly said:

Sonoma Valley. I just can't with this couple. It's mostly envy of their budget. Who bases where they want to live on a childhood movie?

Showing my age here - not "my" (nice girl Hayley Mills) Parent Trap! 

I have seen the 1998 (mean girl Lindsey Lohan) version. Here's the scoop on the winery associated with the filming of the remake.

http://www.napawineproject.com/staglin-family-vineyard/

 

[cameron]

14 hours ago, chessiegal said:

OMG! We're only a few minutes into the Chicago episode and she's got plastic on her furniture!

And for a person who is supposedly a planner, you think that she would have done something with all those boxes in her living room.  Guess her planning hasn't worked out so well.  And her facial contortions when she spoke drove me crazy.

[Empress1]

15 hours ago, NYGirl said:

BTW her friend is so cute!  Both him and realtor are trying to talk sense into her.  In one ear...out the other.  

There was a shot when she was talking about blowing out a kitchen wall. Her best friend was looking like “Girl, what?” I howled! 

The first one was the one I liked the least. The views were gorgeous but the kitchen gut job plus the HOA that was essentially like paying a second mortgage would put that off my list. The second and third were much better-looking, in my opinion.