House Hunters - General Discussion

[deirdra]

11 minutes ago, DonnaMae said:

I'd like to know the story behind Abbey Glen.  What a strange name for a dog.

There is an Abbey Glen Park in Edmonton, Alberta and there are Abbey Glen Pet Memorial Parks in Pennsylvania & New Jersey.  Though it would be odd to name your puppy after its final resting place.

[Grrarrggh]

19 hours ago, Grizzly said:

The friend wants to do the remodeling. Wonder if she'll do it at cost?

From what she brought in at the end she wasn't do any designing. 

[Grizzly]

Stafford, Virginia. I'd pick the castle but then I'm a castle person. Those huge rooms with all the windows were gorgeous. Too bad about the floor situation. The midcentury was at a really good price. Wow, the homebuyers never like what I like.

[Kiddvideo]

The Stafford house looked great with the repainted rooms. The next time someone complains about the color of the walls I’d show them those makeovers. I thought they’d pick the last house because she seemed to like it best even if he would be disappointed, which made me a little sad. Glad they went with the castle. I liked them.

[buttersister]

Now I want every episode with hideous or blah paint to be changed in the “later” segment. Stay away until it’s done😏They did a great job in all those rooms!

[Empress1]

10 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Those huge rooms with all the windows were gorgeous.

I thought so too. I kept picturing the seating areas I'd create under the windows.

[CrazyInAlabama]

On the Stafford episode, they picked the right house.   It had the second kitchen, already had septic (I'm guessing septic, I'm sure the third one had septic) for the number of bathrooms and kitchens in the house, and was huge.   The third house was in the boonies, and during bad weather would have been a nightmare drive.     It also was a total fixer upper, and would never have been the right house without at least $100k in renovations, and additions.  

[DonnaMae]

No trees on those three acres!

 

[Crashcourse]

Hippy dippy herbalist Stafford wife annoyed me a bit when she was talking about knocking down walls like it was no big deal at all.  Otherwise, I liked the castle house they chose.   

[amarante]

I was shocked 😱😱 just shocked when the Stafford HH picked the house where the seller ripped off the carpet and just left subfloors showing. 😂😂😂

[topanga]

13 hours ago, DonnaMae said:

No trees on those three acres!

 

Hey, you wouldn’t want your kids to get a stick in the face. There are a lot of reasons I’d be concerned about my kids playing in the woods, but “stick to the face” is one I’d never heard before.

Was. the mom an herbalist as a hobby, or did she actually have a business?

And I loved the big blue castle. I’m glad that’s the house they chose. 

[DonnaMae]

She has a business, so I guess that's why she needed a separate kitchen.

[CrazyInAlabama]

Today's OWN reruns are apparently couples you're glad you don't live near.   

The people in Owego NY that have a restaurant, and want to buy an older home for a boutique hotel.   That third house had a lot of issues, but they seem to have fixed them, and restored the house.    She actually wants a place that not only is a boutique hotel, but can have wedding receptions in the back yard.      I suspect the wedding receptions, and other talk was mostly storyline, and they always intended to have smaller events, like showers and receptions.   Having a venue that does smaller events can be hard to find, unless you want the event room at a restaurant, so place like that house that's restored would be much nicer.   

The performer in Las Vegas.  She says she wants Mid-Century, and a fixer.  The second house is both, and then she doesn't seem to want a real fixer, but that house was in bad shape.  . I think the house formerly owned by Gladys Knight was a great choice for the buyer, with lots of bedrooms, and baths, and that upstairs apartment.    

Edited April 17, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[Grrarrggh]

6 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

The people in Owego NY that have a restaurant, and want to buy an older home for a boutique hotel, the wife is a nightmare.    She actually wants a place that not only is a hotel, but can have wedding receptions in the back yard.    My guess is the neighbors will have something to say about hundreds of people, lots of cars, and all of this going on.   The third, historic district house won't work, I bet the historic district group won't allow them to change anything on the outside.   They need a big place out of town, with lots of parking.    

Why do you need a lot of parking? Just hire a bus/van for guests. Pick them up wherever they're staying in the area. That's how a lot of places do it.

[CrazyInAlabama]

Vans might work, but the guests still need to park somewhere central.    There are other venues around there on acreage, so I think that competition might win over a smaller property in town.  

I'm glad it worked out for the couple, and for the community.      

Edited April 17, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[buttersister]

That place was a massive gut job. The room, floors and possibly walls all suffer from water damage—yikes. So curious me went searching. Surprise.

Looks like it’s working out. And another article about them includes her restaurant and filming info.

 

 

[Grizzly]

Atlanta. The plastic surgeon and federal agent. I love his voice, he is so sexy! He reminds me of Michael Clarke Duncan. The houses were ok. I can't decide if I like the green cabinets or not. And who knew Atlanta was so hilly?

[chessiegal]

27 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

And who knew Atlanta was so hilly?

I did. Lived there for 4 years, worked inside the Perimeter NE, lived in Suwanee.

Quenton sounded like Barry White. What a great deep voice. I found him. He works for the same federal agency I worked for - over 20 years. Looks like he started working with them after I left.

[ByaNose]

1 hour ago, Grizzly said:

Atlanta. The plastic surgeon and federal agent. I love his voice, he is so sexy! He reminds me of Michael Clarke Duncan. The houses were ok. I can't decide if I like the green cabinets or not. And who knew Atlanta was so hilly?

The green cabinets were ugly. What era did they ever look good? LOL!!!

[Grrarrggh]

17 minutes ago, ByaNose said:

The green cabinets were ugly. What era did they ever look good? LOL!!!

They weren't painted correctly. The wood was too dark underneath. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I think the green cabinets were just painted over dark wood, and by someone who didn't have a clue about how to paint cabinets the right way.   It looked like they just slapped some green paint with some faux finish mixed in.     I bet they had to do a huge credit to the buyers for that kitchen too.     

I liked the Atlanta couple, but don't care about man caves, or control centers or whatever else they wanted.    Just buy the size house you want, and be happy.    

[cameron]

Surprised at the Atlanta couple house price choices.  Would have thought between her being a plastic surgeon with her own practice and his job that they would have been able to have a higher range as far as home prices.

[Cetacean]

I don't normally watch "domestic" HH but I was channel surfing and that guy's voice just stopped me in my tracks.  Wow, it was mesmerizing to listen to him.

But control center?  Can't buy a house because ther monster closet was not adjacent to the bedroom?  Give me a break.

At least they were pleasant to each other for the most part.  And honestly, I could listen to him reading the phone book.

[laredhead]

Cameron, I understand what you are saying about the Atlanta HH's being able to qualify for a more expensive house, but maybe they are thinking about the future with 1 child ( maybe more) in college, they might want to travel, make further improvements in the house, etc., and they don't want to mortgage themselves to the hilt.  I have a friend who is a long time realtor, and she says that she has seen too many houses that look nice on the outside, but the owners can't afford to furnish them because they are paying big monthly mortgage payments.  The Atlanta husband says he frugal, so maybe that was a big part of the choice too.

[edie3]

I loved his voice! So sexy. Best HH of the year so far, just based on him!

[Empress1]

3 hours ago, cameron said:

Surprised at the Atlanta couple house price choices.  Would have thought between her being a plastic surgeon with her own practice and his job that they would have been able to have a higher range as far as home prices.

 

1 hour ago, laredhead said:

Cameron, I understand what you are saying about the Atlanta HH's being able to qualify for a more expensive house, but maybe they are thinking about the future with 1 child ( maybe more) in college, they might want to travel, make further improvements in the house, etc., and they don't want to mortgage themselves to the hilt.

I was impressed that they appear to live below their means. I've spent several seasons watching Married to Medicine in Atlanta and one particular couple seems hell-bent on living at their means, including during a time when they had to pay a six-figure tax bill. It would be one thing if they were in NYC or LA or SF where you can't find anything livable below a certain price point, but if they can afford something nice below their means, why not do so?

2 hours ago, Cetacean said:

that guy's voice just stopped me in my tracks.  Wow, it was mesmerizing to listen to him.

He did have a very sexy voice. Commanding.

[Crashcourse]

3 hours ago, Empress1 said:

He did have a very sexy voice. Commanding.

I would have dropped my jeans and put my hands up for him. 😅

[Dehumidifier]

I wish that when the stations show a marathon of old shows, that they would run them in the order in which they were originally broadcast. I like to look back at the comments on this site that were made when they were first shown and chronological order would make it so much easier!

[topanga]

3 hours ago, Dehumidifier said:

I wish that when the stations show a marathon of old shows, that they would run them in the order in which they were originally broadcast. I like to look back at the comments on this site that were made when they were first shown and chronological order would make it so much easier!

That’s a constant game for me—trying to match up old episode airing dates with PreviouslyTV comments. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

So L.A. to Portland for the slower life style?    Are they kidding?    It's a huge city.

So the kids are saying what the house should be?    And what does the wife model?  And why does she need a huge closet?   The husband is in 'the business', and he does look familiar.  I'm so sick of the huge closet requirement, and the jokes about a couple only having a closet for one of them, and the other person has to store their stuff somewhere else.   The husband needs to stop with the 'this house is boring'.   I bet he wants gray walls, white trim, and the realtor should show him flip houses, because that's what he wants.  Pretentious snobs.  

The second house is Victorian, 1907 or about then, and used to be an office building, and has a vacation rental in the basement. This house is so close to one of the neighbors that it's scary.    This house isn't big enough.    Not when the HH claim the sizeable primary bedroom is small, and it's fine.  No closet space though.  

Third house is in the burbs, and is one of those wood shake contemporary types.  Giant closet, but has a day bed in it.   The main bath has top of the wall glass, over the entry.     I bet they pick the first one.   Wrong again, they picked the bizarre third house.   

[Grizzly]

Portland, OR. I'm fine with them being, how did she put it, recovering Goths. But Adam crept into creepy when he wanted to have his office in the loft of his daughter's bedroom. That house in the city would not work. I said gingerbread when they were asking about the style of #3. It was really cool looking but not practical. And that's what they picked.

[Grrarrggh]

40 minutes ago, Grizzly said:

Portland, OR. I'm fine with them being, how did she put it, recovering Goths. But Adam crept into creepy when he wanted to have his office in the loft of his daughter's bedroom. That house in the city would not work. I said gingerbread when they were asking about the style of #3. It was really cool looking but not practical. And that's what they picked.

That wasn't going to be one of the kid's bedrooms, it would have been theirs. And the third place was quite practical I thought. It gave them the spaces they needed plus the design and vibe they wanted.

I don't get why she needed all those clothes. Models don't wear their own clothes when working.

Edited April 22, 2021 by Grrarrggh

[CrazyInAlabama]

I wonder if the wife was actually an influencer, who is sent a lot of clothes to model online?    Even then you only need to keep what works for you, because not everything will be something that she wants, or needs.    Another person who just wants to accumulate as much stuff as they can, and keep all of it.   

The storyline that the husband was going to use the loft in the bedroom for an office was laughable.    He couldn't even stand up.   There is no way they would buy the Victorian, right next to the neighbors, and needing so much work to turn it into a family home.   The only full bathroom was on the first floor, off of the dining room.   They would have to spend at least $100k to make it up to their standards, and it never would fit what they demanded.    

Edited April 22, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[stewedsquash]

On 4/21/2021 at 4:34 AM, CrazyInAlabama said:

I liked the Atlanta couple, but don't care about man caves

I swooned a bit when he called it his gentleman's retreat. I missed the opening so I didn't know their occupations while watching and the command center confused me. I couldn't figure out if it was personal or job related for her. Reading here confirms it was personal, closet space. 

They are on my top 10 favorite HH list. I hope the tomato and peach are happy, thriving and have a bunch of friends in their happy little life.

 

Edited April 22, 2021 by stewedsquash

[stewedsquash]

21 hours ago, Crashcourse said:

I would have dropped my jeans and put my hands up for him. 😅

I did picture myself being enveloped in a long drawn out welcoming hug with him. I would do it every time I saw him, it would be weird. ha

[Empress1]

I'd think the lack of office space would be a deal-breaker for a full-time remote worker. It's one thing if working at home is new for you and your existing setup doesn't accommodate it (like so many people have found during the pandemic), but if you know going into your home purchase that that's what your situation is, I'd make it one of my deal-breakers.

[KLovestoShop]

Loved the Atlanta couple, but could the agent find three weirder houses?  Fugly green cabinets, the chopped up floor plan where shelves just popped up, and strange wall paint colors. I’m glad they picked the house they did. 

[cameron]

Portland episode.  Note to buyers and realtor.  That second house was a four square, not a victorian.

[Grizzly]

6 minutes ago, cameron said:

Portland episode.  Note to buyers and realtor.  That second house was a four square, not a victorian.

Thank you. I didn't think so but wasn't 100% sure.

[izabella]

19 hours ago, Grrarrggh said:

I don't get why she needed all those clothes. Models don't wear their own clothes when working.

I'm pretty sure she said she was a plus size fit model.  Maybe she sometimes gets to keep the clothes, or buys them at a huge discount.  I would if designers made great clothes that fit me perfectly! 

[edie3]

6 hours ago, cameron said:

Portland episode.

I had to watch the Atlanta couple again, to freshen up my mind,

[Kiddvideo]

California to Austin, she wants donkeys: We’ve seen episodes where the owners hadn’t removed big items like sectionals or swing sets, but this one did a particularly bad job of it. All of those plants around the pool and that heap in the garage? Just leave everything in place as if you’re viewing a home still occupied by previous owners! And enough with the plants already. Some of them looked dead.

If her comments in the walkthrough were genuine I feel they bought the wrong house — like they bought a rustic Italian villa and are trying to turn it into a mid century modern.

And another spouse who voices negative opinions about their partner and is confident they’ll get their way. Is marriage as a competition fun?

[LittleIggy]

Austin: I knew the second house wasn’t a real option, but it was my fave. That view was gorgeous.

[Jess14]

On 4/21/2021 at 6:48 AM, cameron said:

Surprised at the Atlanta couple house price choices.  Would have thought between her being a plastic surgeon with her own practice and his job that they would have been able to have a higher range as far as home prices.

I was also slightly surprised, but they may have a lot of loans, and it also seemed liked they were taking care of the husband's mother. 

As someone who lives in Atlanta (in the perimeter, but I've lived out of it as well), I'm always shocked that so many of these couples, at least 1/2 of the couple, talk about not wanting a bad commute but then, they pick a home that is WAY out there. I really hope these people are testing out the commute (morning and evening) for a few days before they put an offer on these homes because Atlanta traffic is hellish. Maybe traffic will never be as bad as it was pre-covid with more people remote, but I can't help but think that some of these people must be miserable after a month or 2 of these commutes everyday.

 

[Dehumidifier]

Rerun on OWN right now. Clearwater FL. 26 year old director buying her second home. I'm like, "director?" "second home" "26?" HOW? Well, found her. She works for her father's company (since she graduated from college.) Not exactly the self-made woman implied on the show! 🙄

https://mountainwestira.com/ira-staff/

Edited April 24, 2021 by Dehumidifier

[Dehumidifier]

On 4/21/2021 at 7:56 PM, topanga said:

That’s a constant game for me—trying to match up old episode airing dates with PreviouslyTV comments. 

Do you accidentally close the site as you're going back and forth and have to start all over again? I do.

[CrazyInAlabama]

The next OWN one is a 'power couple' looking in the Anaheim Hills CA for a house facing East, and they've been looking for three years.     Budget $1 million for him, and $1.5 for her. How the wife can say that she has an open mind on the house, but demands that it faces East, and the realtor showing the couple houses that face other directions is silly.     What a surprise, they pick the only house facing East. 

Edited April 24, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[Kiddvideo]

18 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

Austin: I knew the second house wasn’t a real option, but it was my fave. That view was gorgeous.

Did they ask if the land could be built on? It was gorgeous but in 5 years will be tract housing probably.

[Sewlitaire]

HGTV have reposted a hilarious spoof video by comedienne Sarah Jay Pierce about the typical house hunters on their shows.

Their social media peeps seem to have a great sense of humor.

[LittleIggy]

11 hours ago, Kiddvideo said:

Did they ask if the land could be built on? It was gorgeous but in 5 years will be tract housing probably.

One hopes it’s a park or nature preserve.