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1 hour ago, Grrarrggh said:

The Modesto guy seemed very selfish. Everything was about what he wanted. Does he spend any time with his family or is it all to do with his business, his projects, his golf, his pool table. 

His wife was very attractive and I found myself wondering if she was also a bit of a trophy for him.

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On 10/13/2021 at 3:46 PM, Grrarrggh said:

The Modesto guy seemed very selfish. Everything was about what he wanted. Does he spend any time with his family or is it all to do with his business, his projects, his golf, his pool table. 

YES!!! OMG!! What an arrogant, self centered, selfish person! It was all about his wish list of boy toys...pool table, outdoor pool, the golf course...not one iota of anything to do with the kids needs or any kind of nod to the wife and what she wanted. I immediately took a dislike to him and the bragging he did about his "businesses". 

22 hours ago, Kenzie said:

His wife was very attractive and I found myself wondering if she was also a bit of a trophy for him.

Yeah...short, pudgy and not the best looking guy I've seen on this show...but he was smug and arrogant. She could have done better.

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I watched only through House tour #1, because I couldn't stand the phony disagreements between the couple, and the insistence that a rabbit gets a bedroom on the same floor as the couple's suite.     Poor dog in the baby carrier on the husband was horrible.   I just couldn't take the demands, and the whining anymore. 

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On 10/14/2021 at 10:17 PM, Grizzly said:

Columbus, Ohio. Stephanie needs to stop talking, I can't stand her voice. And poor Spud should be taken away from them. Let the dog walk! He is severely overweight. If the bunny gets her own room, why can't Spud?

A dog wouldn’t want to be in his own room. The rabbit needed to be because she would poop all over the place if allowed to roam. I bet the rabbit room smelled!

Poor Spud did look humiliated strapped up like an infant who can’t walk.

Edited by LittleIggy
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4 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

A dog wouldn’t want to be in his own room. The rabbit needed to be because she would poop all over the place if allowed to roam. I bet the rabbit room smelled!

Poor Spud did look humiliated strapped up like an infant who can’t walk.

I think Rabbits also chew things like baseboards too (they have to wear their teeth down). 

I wonder if Spud the giant dog is an Emotional Support Animal?   I've seen a lot of the dog carriers like the husband was wearing on ESA's.   Or maybe Spud isn't trustworthy in strange places on house training?  

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On 10/14/2021 at 10:52 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

I watched only through House tour #1, because I couldn't stand the phony disagreements between the couple, and the insistence that a rabbit gets a bedroom on the same floor as the couple's suite.     Poor dog in the baby carrier on the husband was horrible.   I just couldn't take the demands, and the whining anymore. 

I thought they were both so annoying. I didn't make it through the whole thing either.

There was a recent episode and I can't remember where they were, but they were a couple with 4 kids ages 6 and under looking for a bigger house at a pretty low price point (I think they were around $200k). The wife's hair was so perplexing. She had light roots to her ears and then black below that, but I think the lighter color was also dyed? It was very strange.

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2 hours ago, Empress1 said:

I thought they were both so annoying. I didn't make it through the whole thing either.

There was a recent episode and I can't remember where they were, but they were a couple with 4 kids ages 6 and under looking for a bigger house at a pretty low price point (I think they were around $200k). The wife's hair was so perplexing. She had light roots to her ears and then black below that, but I think the lighter color was also dyed? It was very strange.

I watched that one last night. Her hair looked hideous.

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I had a rabbit as an indoor pet - I was gradually wearing down my parents in terms of getting a dog. 

I just don't get the allure of having a pet rabbit. They are actually very destructive in terms of chewing. If I let the rabbit out, there would be small rabbit turds throughout the room and the oddest things would be chewed like books and even electrical wires. 

There was also zero emotional bonding as my rabbit was completely indifferent to any kind of human contact. If you held the rabbit, it would kind of squirm around but it was a completely unsatisfactory emotional experience unlike dogs, cats and even birds. I am a dog person rather than a cat person and although cats have more of an aloof personality in general they are still much more of a true companion than a rabbit. My friends' cats at least come around to hang out and often like to be stroked and interacted with as well as enjoying playing with cat toys. There really wasn't anything the rabbit wanted to do in terms of human interaction. 

I thought all of the houses were ugly and I didn't particularly think any of them were functional. When I see an episode in which ALL of the houses are awful it makes me wonder because there must have been some home that was better than those choices. It wasn't as if they were looking in a very small area. 

I am not familiar with the Columbus area but it is not like the San Francisco or Manhattan market I would think where you are lucky to get anything that is within your price point. I would have just kept looking if I were the Columbus people. 

Edited by amarante
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On 10/14/2021 at 10:17 PM, Grizzly said:

Columbus, Ohio. Stephanie needs to stop talking, I can't stand her voice. And poor Spud should be taken away from them. Let the dog walk! He is severely overweight. If the bunny gets her own room, why can't Spud?

Me too! Her voice and her little girl demeanor was eccchhhh! And that poor dog was severely obese...he could barely walk. And what's with the bunny?? The bunny had to have his/her own room?? I had a bunny once when I was a little kid...all they do is poop. I can't imagine the poop mess in that room. This "woman" seemed like 12 year old to me...it never ceases to amaze me what a guy will put up with. 

Edited by BrownBear2012
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5 hours ago, Empress1 said:

There was a recent episode and I can't remember where they were, but they were a couple with 4 kids ages 6 and under looking for a bigger house at a pretty low price point (I think they were around $200k). The wife's hair was so perplexing. She had light roots to her ears and then black below that, but I think the lighter color was also dyed? It was very strange.

I was waiting for someone to comment on that episode. I was struck by two things.

First, not by her hair color, but by her clothing - quite a unique personal style.

Second, wrapping my head around living in a place where you could get a 2300 SF Craftsman house for $250K.  And the realtor said the price was a little high. And hubby griped about it.

I know, everything is relative, but a comparable Craftsman in Seattle would come in at $1 million.

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1 hour ago, kirklandia said:

I was waiting for someone to comment on that episode. I was struck by two things.

First, not by her hair color, but by her clothing - quite a unique personal style.

Second, wrapping my head around living in a place where you could get a 2300 SF Craftsman house for $250K.  And the realtor said the price was a little high. And hubby griped about it.

I know, everything is relative, but a comparable Craftsman in Seattle would come in at $1 million.

I wish I could remember where they lived. I've already deleted the episode.

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54 minutes ago, Empress1 said:

Really? That strikes me as cheap for Atlanta unless they were pretty far out.

The episode is available on demand, so I rewatched the beginning. The house is in Villa Rica. I looked it up, about 35 miles from downtown Atlanta.  I did find the original listing online:

"Fantastic Opportunity for Downtown Living!! Minutes from Shopping, Food, or the Interstate! This Historic Craftsman home features: 4Bedroom/3Full Baths, Hardwoods, Tiled Baths, Beautiful updated kitchen with large, sunny breakfast room, separate dining room, Living room with wood burning stove and charming built-ins. Covered, rocking chair front porch, Detached 2-car garage, outdoor patio, backyard with fenced area. Historic, country living right downtown!"

 

Edited by kirklandia
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1 hour ago, kirklandia said:

The episode is available on demand, so I rewatched the beginning. The house is in Villa Rica. I looked it up, about 35 miles from downtown Atlanta.  I did find the original listing online:

"Fantastic Opportunity for Downtown Living!! Minutes from Shopping, Food, or the Interstate! This Historic Craftsman home features: 4Bedroom/3Full Baths, Hardwoods, Tiled Baths, Beautiful updated kitchen with large, sunny breakfast room, separate dining room, Living room with wood burning stove and charming built-ins. Covered, rocking chair front porch, Detached 2-car garage, outdoor patio, backyard with fenced area. Historic, country living right downtown!"

 

Downtown Villa Rica? According to what I just Googled, it has a population of about 15,000. 🙄

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On 10/16/2021 at 2:10 AM, CrazyInAlabama said:

I think Rabbits also chew things like baseboards too (they have to wear their teeth down). 

I wonder if Spud the giant dog is an Emotional Support Animal?   I've seen a lot of the dog carriers like the husband was wearing on ESA's.   Or maybe Spud isn't trustworthy in strange places on house training?  

No kidding, as a landlord, having an unauthorized rabbit and guienie pig in my 1920's craftsman house, was devastating.  Chewed the wood bookcases, the baseboards and pooped in the baseboard heaters.  Total gut job.

 

On 10/16/2021 at 2:10 AM, CrazyInAlabama said:

I

 

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I had heard that domesticated rabbits can be trained to use a litter box. 

Re the young Georgia couple with 4  kids ages 6 and under:  I hadn't really noticed her hair but that weird lipstick shade and odd clothing choices did her no favors. I loved the Craftsman they chose, which really was the best choice for them, although more $ than the husband wanted to spend. I hope they don't paint the brick exterior.

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On 10/17/2021 at 12:29 AM, LittleIggy said:

Downtown Villa Rica? According to what I just Googled, it has a population of about 15,000. 🙄

The largest town in the county where I live has about 17,000 and the other towns are much smaller, mostly less than a third of that, so 15,000 would count as a big town to me.  It has a lot to do with where you come from.

 

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7 hours ago, cameron said:

Can't believe they bought that rat trap #2 house.

I was initially surprised but then understood when they said they paid $800,000 for it.

At the price they would still be ahead even after putting in the $500,000 renovation. 

Given the reality of the Berkeley housing market, I would imagine that home as a steal.

The San Francisco home was terrible - a backyard you need a ladder to climb down into and all the rooms overlooking a freeway close by? 

The Oakland house was $1.3 and was actually fairly small - I think 1400 square feet. The shed in the backyard wasn't particularly usable as a guest room because it had no bathroom. All of the rooms seemed small as well.

I understand why the couple still wanted a larger home. Their children would still be coming there for holidays and the youngest is just out of high school. As the kids get married, it has enough space for the family and the grandchildren to gather as well as being able to host what appears to be her extended family that still lives in the Berkeley area 

ETA - Also a larger home in a climate like Berkely isn't as expensive as it is in a harsher climate. You don't have the double whammy of high heating costs and high air conditioning costs as you do in the Northeast or Midwest. And you don't have the ultra-expensive air conditioning costs of places like Arizona. The climate in Northern California is pretty temperate - or at least it was until climate change made the Northwest summers intolerable recently. 

Edited by amarante
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31 minutes ago, Crashcourse said:

I understood why the San Francisco couple picked house #2 but I still didn't like it.  I'd be curious to see it after renovations though.

It definitely would be a great home for one of those HH shows when people do extensive renovations.

I thought the bones of the house were great but it had obviously been owned in the last decade or so by an old person who had neither the money or time for even basic home maintenance. 

When it was built 100 or so years ago, it was a nice home for a prosperous middle class family. 

Aside from its terrible state, what didn't you like about it? It had large rooms - the kitchen was large enough so that it could be renovated and be a fabulously functional space. The dining room was separate which worked for her life style.

There weren't enough bathrooms but they might be able to steal space so that they have an en suite plus a separate shared bathroom upstairs and a powder room downstairs.

I did a very cursory google search for South Berkely and a 4 bedroom 2 bathroom home that seemed to have less square footage sold for $1.45 million so clearly the market supports the value of what it will cost for it to be renovated.

And at the very end, she said that her mother had grown up in the house as well as the grands so there was a great deal of sentimental attachment to the house and I would imagine wanting to restore it to its past style was a factor - but it also made economic sense to buy it for $800,000 and then spend $400,000 to get it exactly what you want.

I recently did a gut renovation of my home and although it was obviously a bit stressful while going through it, nothing compares to living in a house where everything was done to suit your taste and to function exactly how one wanted. I look at lots of houses that are remodeled and they would all be a compromise. They didn't choose the finishes I would have and often I can see where they cut corners - e.g. not having drawers for the lower kitchen cabinets because drawers are more expensive than doors.

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47 minutes ago, amarante said:

Aside from its terrible state, what didn't you like about it?

Well, that's pretty much the answer to your question, lol.

I didn't like the outside, but then I don't like that style of house.  And you're right that an older person must have lived in it because it was so full of clutter that I couldn't get a read on what the rooms would be like renovated.

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25 minutes ago, Crashcourse said:

Well, that's pretty much the answer to your question, lol.

I didn't like the outside, but then I don't like that style of house.  And you're right that an older person must have lived in it because it was so full of clutter that I couldn't get a read on what the rooms would be like renovated.

It looked like it was approaching Hoarder House status.

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20 minutes ago, CruiseDiva said:

It looked like it was approaching Hoarder House status.

It looked like they were about to have (or just had) an estate sale. I think that’s why things were assembled everywhere. At one point, the wife asked what they were going to do with the dining table. When we had an estate sale after my mom passed, we unloaded all the chests, cabinets to set things out for folks to see easily. 

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11 hours ago, cameron said:

Can't believe they bought that rat trap #2 house.

Never underestimate the lure of a family home.  Memories count for a lot.  Especially if the house is worth as much as the Realtor said.

3 hours ago, Spunkygal said:

It looked like they were about to have (or just had) an estate sale

That's exactly what I thought.  The items were all laid out as if on display.  Exactly how it was when I sold my parent's home.   It wasn't a hoarder situation, just the contents of the home on display for a sale or for the family to select something.

With the difference between the sale price and the money the couple had to spend, I imagine that place would turn out pretty darned great.

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The Berkeley house is going to turn out great after renovation on the kind of money these homeowners have.

That is the proverbial home that many people look for - a poorly maintained home in a great neighborhood with lots of potential. All of these bland flips that people tour on HH once looked like this - well maybe this was a bit worse because many old people just don't have the ability to keep a home spic and span because they lack physical agility/strength and don't have the money for weekly cleaning help.

The home was a flipper's dream - they will hire a crew who will come in and take out everything and then start rebuilding. They obviously have a place to live in while the work is being done because they have no children at home so whatever smaller place they are renting is fine during that period.  

I understand if people don't want to undertake the hassle of that kind of large scale renovation but if you have the will and the money to see it through, the end result is generally more than worth it.

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The family who lost their original home was kind of weird.  The housing market in California is insanely expensive, and I was surprised they could afford anything in that area.  But the way they used the rooms in the house was beyond silly, imho. They made the living room as a bedroom for the two boys, instead of putting them in the actual bedroom was beyond strange.  Why save a bedroom for supposed guests instead of putting the kids in there?  

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4 hours ago, KLovestoShop said:

The family who lost their original home was kind of weird.  The housing market in California is insanely expensive, and I was surprised they could afford anything in that area.  But the way they used the rooms in the house was beyond silly, imho. They made the living room as a bedroom for the two boys, instead of putting them in the actual bedroom was beyond strange.  Why save a bedroom for supposed guests instead of putting the kids in there?  

The bedrooms were small and they wanted the boys to have space since they were sharing. They probably get pretty noisy when they are playing table games like they showed them doing. The dad talked about adding double doors. I think they planned to expand the family room off the kitchen into the backyard at some point, Most people hardly use the formal living rooms nowadays.

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46 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I just couldn't believe they were spending almost $1 million on a house, and with the expansion they plan I'm sure it will be over that price, plus an RV for guests too.   I would have bought the second house with room to park the RV, and room to add on to the house and still have a big lot.   

If I were a guest; wouldn't want to stay in a RV.

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On 10/20/2021 at 2:10 PM, amarante said:

I thought the bones of the house were great but it had obviously been owned in the last decade or so by an old person who had neither the money or time for even basic home maintenance. 

And yet it had sat empty for the past year.  I assume taxes were low, because the house's assessment was frozen at its 1976 value (under Proposition 13).  The owners have to be in their 80s if they'd owned it for 65 years, so I think they probably had the time for basic home maintenance.  😀

I thought it was kind of funny when the HH said she'd be the first one in the family to buy a house for $1.2 million, and I thought, "I'd be prouder of being the first in the family to sell one for $1.2 million."

On 10/20/2021 at 2:10 PM, amarante said:

I did a very cursory google search for South Berkely and a 4 bedroom 2 bathroom home that seemed to have less square footage sold for $1.45 million so clearly the market supports the value of what it will cost for it to be renovated.

The realtor claimed he had clients who would pay $1.8 million for the uncle's house.  I'm not positive I believe that, but trying to learn to believe anything when it comes to real estate prices in desirable parts of California.

On 10/20/2021 at 9:42 AM, amarante said:

I was initially surprised but then understood when they said they paid $800,000 for it.

At the price they would still be ahead even after putting in the $500,000 renovation.

Actually, they paid $900,000 for it, saying something about how Uncle agreed to that if it's sold "as is."  Which made no sense, because it's not like the $1.2 million price he was "firm" on from the beginning was dependent on renovations, never mind $300,000 in renovations, which is conveniently what the HH said the were planning on.

I think there was a lot of manufactured nonsense in this episode, but I enjoyed it anyway because of the family home angle.  And I agree that it looked like an estate sale, or more accurately, the beginnings of the staging for an estate sale, where they take a few weeks to sift through everything.

On 10/20/2021 at 9:42 AM, amarante said:

The San Francisco home was terrible - a backyard you need a ladder to climb down into and all the rooms overlooking a freeway close by? 

I think I mentioned this once before, years ago, but for several months I lived in Thousand Oaks, just above the Ventura Freeway.  I loved watching the traffic through the window--the ebb and flow.  The San Francisco house overlooked the freeway, but if you looked up instead of down, there's a nice view of hills with houses, if freeway views bug.

The back yard access via a ladder was definitely weird, but I could see putting something together down there that would be appealing to look at.  That's how I think of pools--I don't ever swim in them, but I think they're lovely to look at in a back yard.

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With the S.F. area house, 'as is' meant that the couple had to clearout all of the stuff that had accumulated through the years, that's why they were having an estate sale or whatever they were doing, and why they had dishes, extra furniture, glassware, etc. everywhere.    They had to decide what to keep, and what to get rid of.  

The S.F. couple's storyline was downsizing, so they hadn't planned to clean out anything before they moved?     I know they already own the house before filming with two decoys, but the homes they looked at, especially the one with the ladder to that weedy backyard, seemed too outrageously different to be decent decoys.  My idea of moving forward would have been to call an auction company, and have them haul everything away that I didn't want to keep, and let them handle the moving, and selling.  If the buyers were handling the estate sale themselves, that would be tough to do, watch items you think are valuable get criticized or sell for almost nothing.    The house they bought would be fun to see what it looks like after everything is redone.     

The Atlanta (Lawrenceville for #1)couple, Selena and Kenya are so cute.   The wife crying at the beginning is adorable.   They both are saying the nice things about the #1 house, no hysterics, no whining about gutting everything.   A refreshing change in house hunters. 

#1 in Lawrenceville is 4 bedroom (she wants 5 because they want to have a couple of kids, and also have room for guests).   I like the layout, and the workshop in the garage for the husband's business. 

#2 is 6 bedroom, 3 bath for $330k.   The stairs and hallway upstairs seem very narrow.  Primary bath en suite is tiny, closet is tiny.  I don't like the split level, and the stairs. 

#3 is 2 story $ 2160 sq.ft. first floor floor is concrete with a shiny finsh,  4 bedrooms, with a nice office for the husband's business. 

They choose #1.   

Edited by CrazyInAlabama
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Just now, CrazyInAlabama said:

With the S.F. area house, 'as is' meant that the couple had to clearout all of the stuff that had accumulated through the years, that's why they were having an estate sale or whatever they were doing, and why they had dishes, extra furniture, glassware, etc. everywhere.    They had to decide what to keep, and what to get rid of.  

In terms of real estate, "as is" means the purchaser is taking the property in the condition with no warranty.

Typically you make an offer contingent upon the property being inspected. If the inspection reveals certain issues, the purchase price will then be negotiated to cover the cost of the repairs or whatever the parties think is appropriate.

Sellers of properties like this don't want to deal with someone coming back and wanting to renegotiate based on finding issues. Sure the seller is free to back out and find another buyer but it is a tremendous hassle and often it results in a lower price because the property has become stale.

The issue of all of the crap including rat traps merely means that the seller is not attempting to stage it but knows realistically that the only people who are going to be interested in the property are those who are willing to spend a substantial amount of time and money to renovate including being okay with probably issues with major stuff like electrical, roofs. HVAC and plumbing. 

I had lunch with a friend who is a real estate agent who just sold an "as is" property in less than a week after listing and didn't bother to stage it because she knew that the buyer would be someone who was ready for a complete gut. And of course she was right since it sold over asking price and the buyer brought his designer and architect. Conversely a home that is more turn key would probably be staged to maximize purchase price because the prospective buyers tend to lack the kind of visual imagination so a good staging helps sell the property and mask inherent flaws. 

Regarding a previous comment, homes owned by old people are often in a state of disrepair. They don't have funds to do maintenance or certainly not to remodel so their kitchen and bathrooms are up to date. Obviously the owner had no mortgage and benefited from lower taxes base on Proposition 13 but he was probably living on a very low fixed income because the house was in a poor area with low housing prices when he bought it 50 or 60 years ago. 

I meant as is in this case the previous owner left everything accumulated over the years.  Plus, whatever the buyers accumulated or inherited too.    I'm guessing that it will need a lot of mechanical updates to systems too.    It's going to be a long process to remodel the home, but I bet it will be nice when it's finished.   

I could have totally misunderstood too.     The wife said something about inherited items, so it could have been items she's inherited, what was left in the house, and the house hunters' possessions too.   The house was certainly packed full with extra furniture, and dishes and glassware everywhere.  As is was a great move by the seller, even reducing the price.     No updating by the seller, no negotiating about deficiencies, and I bet the house was totally paid off, so almost all profit.  

I wondered about the Atlanta/Lawrenceville couple too, and talking about kids.   I hope they're very happy in that home.   They both seemed like really nice people. 

Edited by CrazyInAlabama
3 hours ago, Grizzly said:

Atlanta, GA. Are they adopting these future kids? They met in college 20 years ago so they are now 40ish. I want to see her chase after 2 small children up and down two stories. All of the houses looked nice. A grand entrance is just a waste of space. I'm glad they bought #1, that space for his business was unbeatable.

The entire episode I was thinking the same thing about kids. She wanted agood number of bedrooms; so im thinking she wanted a few.

On again off again relationship for 20 years; hmm.

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5 hours ago, Texasmom1970 said:

The entire episode I was thinking the same thing about kids. She wanted agood number of bedrooms; so im thinking she wanted a few.

On again off again relationship for 20 years; hmm.

They must be thinking of adopting or fostering.  Would be a difficult pregnancy due to both her age and weight.

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