House Hunters - General Discussion

[Ohwell]

"Hidey hole" sounds like something a four year old would say.

[Kohola3]

13 minutes ago, Ohwell said:

"Hidey hole" sounds like something a four year old would say.

Hidey hole sounds like something a four year old might actually need.  It just makes an adult sound like an idiot.

[jcbrown]

48 minutes ago, javajeanelaine said:

I was yearning to hear the words "man cave" by the end of the Montana episode.

So say we all.

[doodlebug]

13 hours ago, javajeanelaine said:

I was yearning to hear the words "man cave" by the end of the Montana episode.

If I was married to his wife, I'd probably be looking for someplace to hide myself, so I sorta get the 'hidey hole' reference in this case.  However, he had a specific purpose in mind for the room: he wanted a place where he could have a drafting table/workspace to do cartooning/drawing.  He wanted a workroom, a home office; not a mancave, not a stupid 'hidey hole' and I get why he was concerned about lighting, etc in the space since he had a specific project in mind for the room.  The constant bickering was exhausting, I feel for their kids.  Its really hard on children when their parents are at odds over everything and the kids have to hear it.

[Kohola3]

35 minutes ago, doodlebug said:

He wanted a workroom, a home office; not a mancave, not a stupid 'hidey hole' and I get why he was concerned about lighting, etc in the space since he had a specific project in mind for the room. 

Except that he said the one room didn't make him "feel creative".  What a drama queen.  

With that said what he really needed was a soundproof bunker to get away from that harridan of a wife.

[CruiseDiva]

1 hour ago, Kohola3 said:

Except that he said the one room didn't make him "feel creative".  What a drama queen.  

With that said what he really needed was a soundproof bunker to get away from that harridan of a wife.

So they bought the house with unfinished basement for his "creative" space. Duh. I think he wanted that particular house because he knew wifey wouldn't be venturing into that basement and he could get away from her by hiding out down there.

[scorpio1031]

Watching Season 1 eps on my Roku.  What a difference!  This one guy is looking at his 15th house and they say that.  There is no set number they look at and if the house isn't what they want, they say so right then and there.  And Suzanne Whang is narrating:)

[msmarjoribanks]

On 6/13/2019 at 9:18 PM, Empress1 said:

I thought it was odd that the Nigerian house hunters (the man was named Chidi, which made me smile as I love the character in The Good Place with the same name) were looking in New Jersey. Not Montclair or Camden or Trenton ... just New Jersey. They spent way more than they planned - $100K more than their budget AND renovations. Yikes. They were nice though, and a good-looking couple. I liked that the wife was like, yeah, we need two sinks, I'm messy as hell.

Agree, I really miss the specific location information.

I thought they should have picked the first house, which was only $475K and seemed to have most of what they wanted, but whatever.  I did like the couple.

[msmarjoribanks]

On 6/13/2019 at 8:51 AM, topanga said:

Portland is the same way. I grew up there, and no one had AC--in the '70s and '80s, it rarely got above 80 degrees (27 C) in the summer

I don't live there anymore, but yesterday the high was 96 (36 C)

My dad lives near Portland, and exactly this.  It's crazy hot more often vs moderate all year round. I'm in Chicago and his weather is not dissimilar to mine but more unpredictable.

[Dewey Decimate]

UO: I didn't hate the Montana wife. Mind you, I didn't LIKE her, but she seemed fairly run-of-the-mill in terms of complain-y HHer. There were a few times in which she said something about wanting to understand what her husband wanted, and that petulant little asshole practically crossed his arms and stomped on the ground with his "I'm not feeling it." Use your words, you little *$%#, and perhaps describe what you actually want. He has to tromp off on his own to escape while looking at PRETEND houses? When we all know you already OWN one? I mean, people know this will be on tv, right? The deep iciness between the two of them was so downright uncomfortable I had to mute some of the scenes in their vehicle. And dog help me, but when they showed his "after" HIDEY-HOLE bunker that looked like the backdrop for a hostage video, all I could think was that it was made for either hanging up a secret trove of Nazi memorabilia or viewing a shit-ton of child porn.

[Ohwell]

I hated both of the hidey hole people.  

[topanga]

Decatur, GA: Chris was adorable. A little bit of a Mama’s boy, but other than that, I couldn’t find anything wrong with him. I can’t understand why he’s still single. Unless he really isn’t. 

I laughed when he bragged about one bathroom having dual shower heads, and his mom said, ‘But you’re single. They’ll be nice...someday.’ Does she really think he’s a celibate monk? LOL.  

[LittleIggy]

Decatur, GA: So dude picked the place with the “little” master bath. I was thinking, when his mom said it was small and he agreed, “Well, what do you plan on doing in there? Dancing?” 🙄 To me, those massive showers are ridiculous. I couldn’t decide whether he was gay or straight. Doggie was sweet.

Edited June 18, 2019 by LittleIggy

[kirklandia]

On 6/13/2019 at 4:09 PM, blueray said:

I was shocked when I saw the size of those houses. My brother lives in Seattle and he paid about that. His house was built in the 1920's, is way smaller and I think he had to add AC.  Of course his house is in the city proper. Maybe they were looking like an hour out.

I do miss having a narrator for the additional background information.  I want to know the neighborhoods (or actual towns) where the houses are. Those cul-de-sac houses looked awfully suburban to me. I don't believe they, or the ranch with the big yard, were in Seattle.

And the NZ dude is gonna have to travel pretty far to get his boat to "the ocean".

[laredhead]

I enjoyed the Atlanta episode last night.  The mother offered some good advice, and I thought the realtor was more informative too than some we have seen.  The mom is right about the dog's nails scratching those beautiful floors.  I'm not a fan of laminate floor, but I have both hardwood and laminate in my house, and the laminate holds up to pet nails and Hot Wheels much better than the hardwood.  When the Hot Wheels phase is over, the laminate will be replaced with hardwood.

The bathroom in the house he chose was small compared to some of the gianormous ones we have seen, but I think the complaint was that is was very narrow between the entrance door and the vanity, and it did look like a narrow space when they mentioned it.  Did it also have the stacked washer/dryer closet?  I agreed with him about not liking that. 

Did anyone hear what he did for a living?  I erased it before I realized I had not heard that.  The dog was obviously very important to him, and the realtor mentioned that she had gotten the owner's permissions to let the dog in the houses.   

[topanga]

12 minutes ago, laredhead said:

The bathroom in the house he chose was small compared to some of the gianormous ones we have seen, but I think the complaint was that is was very narrow between the entrance door and the vanity, and it did look like a narrow space when they mentioned it.  Did it also have the stacked washer/dryer closet?  I agreed with him about not liking that. 

Did anyone hear what he did for a living?  I erased it before I realized I had not heard that.  The dog was obviously very important to him, and the realtor mentioned that she had gotten the owner's permissions to let the dog in the houses.   

He didn’t say what he did—or it was edited out. 

And the house he chose did have a side by side washer and dryer, but the laundry closet was in a weird spot—on the second floor, near the bedrooms, I think. 

I wonder where his dad was. And did have save siblings? Chris talked more about his dog than he did about himself. Now I’m wondering if he uses his dog as a way of deflecting attention from himself. 

[Ohwell]

The Atlanta guy seemed nice enough but I just got a strange vibe from him, I can't explain it.  Maybe it was because he was so into washing and ironing, lol. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I know the Atlanta house hunter picked the first house for the garage, but the realtor wasn't right about endlessly sanding and poly on the floors.    They could put several heavy coats of poly on the floors, but if the dog has tough nails, they'll eventually scratch.   I would have taken the second house, and enclosed the car port, since it only needed a door side, a full wall on the side, and a little on the back to fully enclose it.      As it is, the first house will need to have a bedroom turned into a laundry center, so he can iron constantly, and for his wardrobe storage.   

The third was my favorite, but I'm guess with setbacks, that the garage would be impossible.  Of course, even if the garage building was possible, it would have required a lot off of the price too.  

[Kohola3]

6 hours ago, topanga said:

...but the laundry closet was in a weird spot—on the second floor, near the bedrooms...

To me that's the perfect spot for the washer/dryer. No schlepping dirty and clean clothes all over the place.  Once they are washed and dried it's just a short step to putting them back in the closet or dresser.

[CruiseDiva]

9 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

To me that's the perfect spot for the washer/dryer. No schlepping dirty and clean clothes all over the place.  Once they are washed and dried it's just a short step to putting them back in the closet or dresser.

That is a convenience, but I would worry about the washing machine overflowing or the hose breaking and flooding the first floor. It happened to a neighbor.

[Bastet]

10 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

To me that's the perfect spot for the washer/dryer. No schlepping dirty and clean clothes all over the place.  Once they are washed and dried it's just a short step to putting them back in the closet or dresser.

A lot of people act like washing machines are plumbing mishaps waiting to happen, and thus if they're upstairs the water damage will be worse, but I'm with you.  I lived in a two-story townhouse for about eight years, and the laundry closet was in the upstairs hallway between the two bedrooms.  Perfect.

[Kohola3]

2 minutes ago, CruiseDiva said:

That is a convenience, but I would worry about the washing machine overflowing or the hose breaking and flooding the first floor.

Well, the same thing could happen for a first floor washer leaking into the basement or crawl space.   I've had 40 years worth of washers and nary a mishap on any level.

[Ohwell]

1 hour ago, CruiseDiva said:

That is a convenience, but I would worry about the washing machine overflowing or the hose breaking and flooding the first floor. It happened to a neighbor.

I'm with you.  I've always had my washer and dryer on the first floor in places where I've lived and I prefer it that way. 

Plus, I don't mind the exercise, bringing clothes from upstairs to downstairs. 

[laredhead]

In my area, many new 2 story houses that are in the high 6 figure price range are being built with a laundry room on both the ground floor and the 2nd floor.  I was blown away when I saw the first couple of those.

[topanga]

50 minutes ago, laredhead said:

In my area, many new 2 story houses that are in the high 6 figure price range are being built with a laundry room on both the ground floor and the 2nd floor.  I was blown away when I saw the first couple of those.

Are we really that lazy and/or have that much laundry that we need two laundry rooms. Or are the houses just that big?

[ECM1231]

5 hours ago, Bastet said:

A lot of people act like washing machines are plumbing mishaps waiting to happen, and thus if they're upstairs the water damage will be worse, but I'm with you.  I lived in a two-story townhouse for about eight years, and the laundry closet was in the upstairs hallway between the two bedrooms.  Perfect.

I so wish mine were as I have to schlep  from the 2nd floor to the basement and my knees are very arthritic.  My dear hubs is one of those negative Neds, always insisting that disaster is lurking just around the corner. We do have a mudroom off the kitchen on the 1st floor and he may eventually put in there but he'd have to first put in the piping for the water hook up or whatever it's called.  I often get laundry envy watching these shows. Heck, I'd even settle for a laundry closet instead of a laundry room. My machines are in the basement just lined up against an exterior concrete wall. Not pretty at all!

[Kohola3]

47 minutes ago, topanga said:

Are we really that lazy and/or have that much laundry that we need two laundry rooms.

Some of us are just old and can't do stairs like we used to.  I have my laundry on the main floor rather than in the basement for just that reason.  It's not laziness or too much laundry, it's an attempt to avoid a broken hip!

[topanga]

58 minutes ago, Kohola3 said:

Some of us are just old and can't do stairs like we used to.  I have my laundry on the main floor rather than in the basement for just that reason.  It's not laziness or too much laundry, it's an attempt to avoid a broken hip!

No offense intended, Kohola3!

[Kohola3]

45 minutes ago, topanga said:

No offense intended, Kohola3!

No worries, none taken.  Just talking from the view of an oldster.

[scorpio1031]

2 hours ago, topanga said:

Are we really that lazy and/or have that much laundry that we need two laundry rooms. Or are the houses just that big?

I'm waiting for the kitchens on the first and second floor - so when you are hungry in the middle of the night, you don't have far to forage😂

[laredhead]

Topanga, the houses I am talking about are 4,000+ square feet.  There are some people here who have some serious $$ evidently.  I would say 99% of the newly constructed houses have the master bedrooms on the main floor and the other bedrooms are on the second floor.  Two story houses weren't a "thing" here until about 20 years ago because land was affordable.  As lot sizes have decreased with the price of land going up, more 2 story houses are being built, and they are double the size of the older one-story houses in many cases.  I guess the thinking was put in 2 laundry rooms, and have the kids take care of their clothes on the 2nd floor where their bedrooms are.  Probably not adding a lot of extra expense to the cost of a $800,000+ house.  

Scorpio, many of these same houses have a coffee/wine bar with sink and refrigerator and microwave in the master suite.  There's your midnight foraging kitchen.   

Now, about the St. Louis guys with the opposite desires in a house - big surprise.  The 3rd house which they described as MCM was too small.  I liked the house they chose, but it will need work.  Being on the low end of the stated budget, they should be able to recoup their investment and some after the improvements they plan to make.  It looked like it was in a very desirable area.  I usually am not a fan of "blowing out walls", but the kitchen and adjoining sitting area could be made more functional by removing the dividing wall and renovating that area.  The taller one is going to have to remember to duck in a couple of places in that house.  

[CoolMom]

18 hours ago, Bastet said:

A lot of people act like washing machines are plumbing mishaps waiting to happen, and thus if they're upstairs the water damage will be worse, but I'm with you.  I lived in a two-story townhouse for about eight years, and the laundry closet was in the upstairs hallway between the two bedrooms.  Perfect.

Our neighbor routinely washed clothes while she was out running errands.  That is until her waterline for the washer burst causing thousands in damage to the house. Because the washer was upstairs the water damage was on both floors rather than just downstairs.  They had to move out for 3 months because the floors and walls were so bad.  My takeaway wasn't about having the washer upstairs just to not run the washer while I am away from the house.

[Kohola3]

6 minutes ago, CoolMom said:

My takeaway wasn't about having the washer upstairs just to not run the washer while I am away from the house.

Or the dryer.  I always worry about dryer fires so I never leave it on when I'm out and the dog is home alone.

[WI GIRL56]

When we built our house 11 years ago the laundry room was on the upper level in a closet near the bedrooms.  We lasted about 6 months before we moved it to the lower level.  The amount of moisture it was throwing out was causing mold to form in our bedrooms.  The area was not ventilated enough for a washer.  Nary a problem with mold since we moved it.  It is in a downstairs office but there are windows and bigger area.  The bedroom next door to it does not have any mold.

[topanga]

3 hours ago, laredhead said:

Now, about the St. Louis guys with the opposite desires in a house - big surprise.  The 3rd house which they described as MCM was too small.  I liked the house they chose, but it will need work.  Being on the low end of the stated budget, they should be able to recoup their investment and some after the improvements they plan to make.  It looked like it was in a very desirable area.  I usually am not a fan of "blowing out walls", but the kitchen and adjoining sitting area could be made more functional by removing the dividing wall and renovating that area.  The taller one is going to have to remember to duck in a couple of places in that house.

I liked that episode. The couple was picky but not overbearing. The tall Spanish dude was cute. And his husband was interesting-looking as well. He had blue eyes but olive coloring. He reminded me of a bald, chubbier Derek Jeter (retired NY Yankee). It made wonder if he was biracial--or otherwise "ethnic" in some way. 

[Pickles]

3 hours ago, Kohola3 said:

Or the dryer.  I always worry about dryer fires so I never leave it on when I'm out and the dog is home alone.

Or the dishwasher! I have heard horror stories of dishwashers flooding the kitchen while people are not home. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I really liked the tall Spanish house hunter.     I'm guessing they can raise the doorway heights on the two lowest openings.     

[Ohwell]

2 hours ago, topanga said:

I liked that episode. The couple was picky but not overbearing. The tall Spanish dude was cute. And his husband was interesting-looking as well. He had blue eyes but olive coloring. He reminded me of a bald, chubbier Derek Jeter (retired NY Yankee). It made wonder if he was biracial--or otherwise "ethnic" in some way. 

Yeah, I thought the husband looked like Derek Jeter.  

[Empress1]

5 hours ago, topanga said:

I liked that episode. The couple was picky but not overbearing. The tall Spanish dude was cute. And his husband was interesting-looking as well. He had blue eyes but olive coloring. He reminded me of a bald, chubbier Derek Jeter (retired NY Yankee). It made wonder if he was biracial--or otherwise "ethnic" in some way. 

I thought everyone in the episode - husbands and realtor - was good-looking.

[ECM1231]

7 hours ago, topanga said:

I liked that episode. The couple was picky but not overbearing. The tall Spanish dude was cute. And his husband was interesting-looking as well. He had blue eyes but olive coloring. He reminded me of a bald, chubbier Derek Jeter (retired NY Yankee). It made wonder if he was biracial--or otherwise "ethnic" in some way. 

YES!!!!   Great minds think alike. LOL  First thought that came into my mind but I'm a New Yorker and a longtime Yankees fan. I too, wondered if he was biracial but I think his name was Tony so he could have been a paisan (Italian).

[CrazyInAlabama]

The new one (at least according to my lying cable guide) in Athens, GA is a pain.     The woman is a total pain.     She wants ceilings higher than 9 feet, a totally done, gourmet kitchen that looks unique, and thinks with their current budget they'll get something spectacular and custom?      

[laredhead]

I laughed when they pulled into the driveway of the first house and the husband said well we hate the driveway, let's go see the house.  A house located at the bottom on a hill is something to be concerned about, but when the realtor said that the owners had installed French drains and gutters, that is a red flag that there were/are drainage issues.  Water runs downhill, and probably had gotten into that house at some point in the past. 

He was pretty laid back, but the girlfriend was a bit picky, but certainly not the worst we've seen on HH by a long shot.  I did agree with her about the "big box store" look on the remodels.  I call them flash and dash flips.  Install some run of the mill SS appliance package, a couple of light fixtures that are the flavor of the months, some white subway tile or glass back splash and put it up for sale.  The farmhouse looked OK, and I guess she must have cleaned up her studio area for the reveal, or she has not cluttered it up yet.  

[Empress1]

What It's Like to Be on House Hunters. The couple in question's episode airs tonight.

[topanga]

2 hours ago, Empress1 said:

What It's Like to Be on House Hunters. The couple in question's episode airs tonight.

Thanks! I'm not going to read it till after I watch tonight's episode.

[Pine]

On 6/17/2019 at 10:27 PM, kirklandia said:

I do miss having a narrator for the additional background information.  I want to know the neighborhoods (or actual towns) where the houses are. Those cul-de-sac houses looked awfully suburban to me. I don't believe they, or the ranch with the big yard, were in Seattle.

And the NZ dude is gonna have to travel pretty far to get his boat to "the ocean".

I am thinking Sammamish or Issaquah.  Normally I can say sometimes the exact homes on the Seattle showings, this one was a bit different, and why don't they say the area.  Better yet, do the pins on a map like HHI.  I don't know if this is allowed, but we have 2 homes on the Eastside under 1500 sq feet for sale for 1.5 each, that is how the market is here.   There is another poster, who I cannot recall their name, who knows the homes on HH locally really well too.  I don't believe I have seen her post on this episode yet.

[LittleIggy]

Athens, GA: I was distracted by the dude’s beard. I wanted to take a weed whacker to it!

[amarante]

Water alarm system will automatically shut off water as soon as any is detected outside an appliance. 

I have water alarms and also pans underneath my washer, dishwasher and refrigerator. Any appliance that has waterlines can leak and cause damage. No reason not to have a washer dryer by bedrooms where it is most convenient. When I think of how my poor mother had to carry loads up two steep flights of stairs because the washer was in the basement. 

[SpiritSong]

9 hours ago, Empress1 said:

What It's Like to Be on House Hunters. The couple in question's episode airs tonight.

Fun article. It confirms a lot of what we've thought over the years re: the producer driven conflict, the way they exaggerate a want, etc. I liked the author after reading it, and am looking forward to seeing them on the show tonight.

[chessiegal]

I thought people on the show had to sign non-disclosure agreements so articles like this couldn't come out.

[Ohwell]

8 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

I thought people on the show had to sign non-disclosure agreements so articles like this couldn't come out.

Even without an NDA, I just think it's TMI.  Just let us enjoy the house porn!