House Hunters - General Discussion

[chessiegal]

31 minutes ago, DonnaMae said:

I loved the house they chose.  That didn't look like any bidet I've seen.  I think it was a toilet.

Yeah, that was some kind of weird faucet off the side of the toilet.

This is a bidet on the right we had in  our hotel room in Florence.

 

[Kemper]

I think today's Chicago HH was a rerun because I kind of remember it being discussed here before.  Attractive young couple ... husband picky about water pressure and wanting a house not "downtown"; wife wanting to buy something downtown.  Apparently they both want to start a family.  She mentioned family and friends "downtown" which would provide a support system.  

It was obvious the wife was going to get her way; one of the condos they looked at (also the one they bought) had a monthly fee of well over $600; the realtor didn't go into detail on the amenities but they did show the conversation with the doorman (included in the monthly fee) which seemed to impress the wife.  That particular place was truly not practical for anyone thinking of starting a family.  Loft-style with a small deck facing a busy road/highway with a good bit of traffic noise.  The roof of the building was very nice with tables, lounges, etc.  But it was shared space, so not private.  The condo also needed work.  But after wife's insisting, the husband caved and that is the place they bought.  Even though the last place was also a condo (I think, or a townhouse/duplex) and really nice; not far from "downtown" with wonderful views of the skyskape; husband liked it.  Wife said even though it wasn't far from downtown and had a nice view, it still was not "downtown".

I cannot believe either of these two thought it would be a great idea to live in a loft downtown with a  new baby and noise; at least when there were other nice options.  I want to see them 3-6 months after a baby, with the crying bouncing off the loft walls and traffic noise when baby is napping.

Sorry, I don't mean to sound so judgmental - but the wife was entitled (but very very attractive) and the husband simply caved.  But at the end, when they were sitting on the roof having wine or bubbly (conveniently no one else was up there) - husband was saying living downtown was worth it.  So.

 

 

[DonnaMae]

13 hours ago, chessiegal said:

Yeah, that was some kind of weird faucet off the side of the toilet.

This is a bidet on the right we had in  our hotel room in Florence.

 

Yes, that looks like what we had in our rooms also.....no lid.

[DonnaMae]

What is considered 'downtown' in Chicago?  Certainly not the 'Loop', which I would think is downtown.  I lived in the city many years ago as a young secretary.  No one lived in that area back then.

[msmarjoribanks]

2 hours ago, DonnaMae said:

What is considered 'downtown' in Chicago?  Certainly not the 'Loop', which I would think is downtown.  I lived in the city many years ago as a young secretary.  No one lived in that area back then.

They seemed to mean close to the Loop -- they were referring to River North as "downtown" (the place they bought was in River North) and Logan Square as "not in the City" (which is a bizarre thing to say) but maybe close enough.  I'd guess they meant something like River North, West Loop, South Loop, maybe Streeterville and Gold Coast (although the first two are much more popular with Millennials than the latter two). More people do live in the Loop itself now, but I still wouldn't want to vs living in a more home-y feeling neighborhood.

I wish they'd say what suburb they look in when they look in a 'burb more consistently than they do.  The suburban area looked like a neighborhood near me that I run in all the time, although this is in the City (just farther from downtown). But of course there are lots of suburban areas not too far from the City that look similar.

I'm sure I commented on this episode when it was on before, but I didn't remember it.  My suspicion was that in reality there was no actual conflict about where they wanted to live, but that was added for the show.

[buttersister]

I’m in River North. Back in the day, before our Stay Home order, this area was crawling with baby carriages and strollers. I wouldn’t be a fan of looking out on/the noise from the feeder ramp (to the expressway), but they’re several blocks from a park and the north branch of the Chicago River. I feel bad for their immediate neighbors—sometimes babies just cry. All night.

[Grrarrggh]

5 hours ago, Kemper said:

I cannot believe either of these two thought it would be a great idea to live in a loft downtown with a  new baby and noise; at least when there were other nice options.  I want to see them 3-6 months after a baby, with the crying bouncing off the loft walls and traffic noise when baby is napping.

How loud can traffic noise really be through closed windows?? As for crying bouncing off the walls, the same can be said for open concept. 

[buttersister]

That particular road is popular with motorcyclists gunning their bikes. Closing the windows doesn’t help, especially late at night.

[doodlebug]

13 hours ago, Kemper said:

I cannot believe either of these two thought it would be a great idea to live in a loft downtown with a  new baby and noise; at least when there were other nice options.  I want to see them 3-6 months after a baby, with the crying bouncing off the loft walls and traffic noise when baby is napping.

Sorry, I don't mean to sound so judgmental - but the wife was entitled (but very very attractive) and the husband simply caved.  But at the end, when they were sitting on the roof having wine or bubbly (conveniently no one else was up there) - husband was saying living downtown was worth it.  So.

 

 

It helps to remember that the actual house hunting portion of the show is fake.  They don't select a couple for filming until after they've already purchased a house and are ready to take possession.  The other two properties they look at are decoys and may not even have been on the market when the couple was looking, might not even be on the market at the time of filming.  Several people who've been on the show have said that their family or friends' homes, which were not even for sale, were used on the show as possible options for purchase.  And the whole storyline about where they wanted to live and their supposed disagreement about it most likely was scripted and not real.

[Grrarrggh]

1 hour ago, doodlebug said:

It helps to remember that the actual house hunting portion of the show is fake.  They don't select a couple for filming until after they've already purchased a house and are ready to take possession.  The other two properties they look at are decoys and may not even have been on the market when the couple was looking, might not even be on the market at the time of filming.  Several people who've been on the show have said that their family or friends' homes, which were not even for sale, were used on the show as possible options for purchase.  And the whole storyline about where they wanted to live and their supposed disagreement about it most likely was scripted and not real.

I always wonder if the buyers ever feel they picked the wrong place once they've seen a great decoy. 

[Mittengirl]

Is anyone else getting some strange descriptive dialogue during tonight’s show (Arizona w/obnoxious pregnant mom)?  After the commercial a disembodied female (computer?) voice said “driving down the street past a sign that says Mesa” then when they opened the back door the voice said “back patio”.  Weird.

[chessiegal]

1 minute ago, Mittengirl said:

Is anyone else getting some strange descriptive dialogue during tonight’s show (Arizona w/obnoxious pregnant mom)?  After the commercial a disembodied female (computer?) voice said “driving down the street past a sign that says Mesa” then when they opened the back door the voice said “back patio”.  Weird.

I was just coming to post the same thing - definitely a computer generated voice thrown in. The camera work also seemed wonky.

[Mittengirl]

Thank God someone else is hearing it!  I thought I had lost my mind!  Quarantine brain.

[NYGirl]

Watching tonight's Arizona episode.  Where did that computerized voice come from?  Is it new or did I not notice before?  I also hear the narrator too... WTH?

As far as people wanting rooms on one floor when they have kids...especially this couple due to the new baby....the first house had an extra bedroom with bathroom upstairs....why don't they just sleep there until they're comfortable going downstairs?  

As far as him wanting an office...just throw up a wall and door on the first floor near the front door..voila..you're away from the kids. 

So they choose one where they can't have the master upstairs with the kids.  It just makes me shake my head.

What an annoying couple.  

Go away computer narrator.

[KLovestoShop]

Super annoying Arizona couple.  She was so immature in her affect and he was just strange.  And considering their story was that they needed a house FAST, because she was going to drop that kid in a few days, she sure didn’t seem all that far along.

What was with that computer generated voice?  It was stupid sounding and beyond irritating. 

[NJMom]

6 hours ago, KLovestoShop said:

Super annoying Arizona couple.  She was so immature in her affect and he was just strange.  And considering their story was that they needed a house FAST, because she was going to drop that kid in a few days, she sure didn’t seem all that far along.

What was with that computer generated voice?  It was stupid sounding and beyond irritating. 

At first I thought I had hit something on the remote and kept trying to figure out what, lol.

[doodlebug]

2 hours ago, NJMom said:

At first I thought I had hit something on the remote and kept trying to figure out what, lol.

I thought one of my dogs had done something to the remote.  I was relieved when I switched the channel and creepy computer voice was gone.  I wonder if it wasn't some sort of aid for people with visual impairment since she seemed to describe what was onscreen when the narration and dialog didn't.

[Babalooie]

11 hours ago, NYGirl said:

Go away computer narrator.

Yessssssss.     Strange people, strange narration.   At least some of the properties looked different from the other AZ episodes.

[LittleIggy]

7 hours ago, doodlebug said:

I thought one of my dogs had done something to the remote.  I was relieved when I switched the channel and creepy computer voice was gone.  I wonder if it wasn't some sort of aid for people with visual impairment since she seemed to describe what was onscreen when the narration and dialog didn't.

That’s exactly what it was. I just wondered how it got on the broadcast. I laughed when the narration said something like “he’s annoyed” when the camera was on the husband at one point. I wish the voice had said “she’s annoying” about her!

Edited April 23, 2020 by LittleIggy

[StatisticalOutlier]

9 hours ago, doodlebug said:

I wonder if it wasn't some sort of aid for people with visual impairment since she seemed to describe what was onscreen when the narration and dialog didn't.

It's called descriptive audio.  From this website:
 

Quote

 

So does every minute of my video need to be described?

Not necessarily. Could you cover the screen and still fully understand what’s going on in the video? If not, it needs some description. Consider these made-up scenes from a nature documentary . . . 

The narrator says “Look at that!” followed by silence.

Scene 1 requires the most additional description. There’s no information about what’s going on in the video.

The narrator says, “I’ll stand over here while Jim wrestles the anaconda,” followed by the sounds of the snake-wrestling match.

Scene 2 requires some additional description. How does an anaconda wrestle? Who is winning?

The narrator says, “The baby birds chirp and open their beaks. Mama has returned to the nest. One of her babies pushes forward and hopes for the choicest worm.”

Scene 3 might not require any additional description, depending on whether there are other important details about the scene that are only available visually.

Other types of visual content that might require description include text displayed onscreen during the video, charts shown during a presentation, equations, or important background details in a narrative video.

 

 

[NYGirl]

Chicago pretentious people carrying around Starbucks and snacks to each house and the reveal.

That first place..yikes...it reminded me of a bomb shelter.

I LOVED the second townhouse with the reading nook!  OMG move me in immediately!

Not a fan of the third... purchaser called it cookie cutter.  I'm with him.  I can't believe they picked it... no doorman!! 

Well as long as he got a place to hang all of his art he'll be ok.

[MaKaM]

24 minutes ago, NYGirl said:

Chicago pretentious people carrying around Starbucks and snacks to each house and the reveal.

That first place..yikes...it reminded me of a bomb shelter.

I LOVED the second townhouse with the reading nook!  OMG move me in immediately!

Not a fan of the third... purchaser called it cookie cutter.  I'm with him.  I can't believe they picked it... no doorman!! 

Well as long as he got a place to hang all of his art he'll be ok.

Yes! I haven't watched HH in a few months and was wondering if some snack company had paid for product placement or welded their cup to the girl's hand. So weird. I actually liked the first place best but it was obvious that the pretentious idjits would pick the one that was still somewhat customizable so they could "make it their style" or whatever.

 

Oh, dear lord, HHI in Bali, she sucked. Here is my pittance of a budget but get me my dream house as I explore my new life as a novice photographer. Trust fund baby?  I would never chose house 3. The "house" didn't even have a proper door to shut and lock.

Edited April 24, 2020 by MaKaM

[Grrarrggh]

31 minutes ago, NYGirl said:

Chicago pretentious people carrying around Starbucks and snacks to each house and the reveal.

That first place..yikes...it reminded me of a bomb shelter.

I LOVED the second townhouse with the reading nook!  OMG move me in immediately!

Not a fan of the third... purchaser called it cookie cutter.  I'm with him.  I can't believe they picked it... no doorman!! 

Well as long as he got a place to hang all of his art he'll be ok.

That was by far the worst place. Small and BORING. Plus I don't trust new builds. 

[LittleIggy]

Chicago: I liked the first place. It had lots of potential. Those HOA fees though! Yikes!

[KLovestoShop]

She can’t be without her Starbucks and he’s eating messy snacks when touring houses?  If I owned the places they looked at, I’d be pissed that he’s eating during a tour.  
 

OK, I guess they have an art collection.  I can’t believe they bought the new construction.  To me, it looked more like a medical building rather than a home. 

[buttersister]

The West Loop is one new construction after another. But he’s exactly the insufferable guy who’ll fit right in. He seemed a lot older than she was. Hence the let’s have kids hysteria.

Can I have that townhome in Old Town, please? 

[cameron]

8 hours ago, Grrarrggh said:

That was by far the worst place. Small and BORING. Plus I don't trust new builds. 

Did anyone notice the tag hanging from her pashmina she was wearing.  She could have at least cut it off.

[Empress1]

9 hours ago, NYGirl said:

Chicago pretentious people carrying around Starbucks and snacks to each house and the reveal.

That first place..yikes...it reminded me of a bomb shelter.

I LOVED the second townhouse with the reading nook!  OMG move me in immediately!

Not a fan of the third... purchaser called it cookie cutter.  I'm with him.  I can't believe they picked it... no doorman!! 

Well as long as he got a place to hang all of his art he'll be ok.

I liked that they wanted wall space. I’d want the same for bookshelves and art; it’s part of why I don’t like open floor plans.

The second one was by far my favorite. The first was too industrial for me and the third was too sterile.

I thought their realtor was really good-looking. Call me, Eli!

[laredhead]

Back to the Arizona episode where the wife was expecting their 3rd child.  It's ridiculous that people can't imagine a room being used for multiple purposes, or have the "brilliant" idea of installing a door to make the room private.  They walked into the first house and declared the front room unusable as an office because it didn't have a door.  He wanted projects, so there's a project, dude.  Install a door frame and a door.  Add one of those barn doors y'all seemed to love in another house.

When I bought my house, the seller had the room I'm using as my living room staged as a dining room.  He had the room I'm now using as my dining room staged as a sun room (it has 11 windows!).  it never occured to me to ask the realtor what the purpose of each room was. 

The wife got on my last nerve with her helicopter mothering.  Children grow up, and the oldest child was certainly old enough to sleep more than 2 rooms away from her parents.  A bedroom on a separate floor will be great when all of those children are older.  

Edited April 24, 2020 by laredhead
Add content

[NYGirl]

Exactly my thoughts plus they don't think about sleeping on the second floor in the 4th bedroom until they don't need to be near the baby anymore?

I laugh when they say to the realtor:  what's this room for?

[Empress1]

1 hour ago, NYGirl said:

I laugh when they say to the realtor:  what's this room for?

Me too. Like, y’all tell him! You’re the ones who will live there!

Whenever parents can’t be more than three feet from their kids, I think of how my best friend has lived in two houses that had masters on the first floor when her kids were very small. It wasn’t something they were necessarily looking for, but it wasn’t a factor at all in whether or not they could live there. They put up baby gates and got on with it. These people would have a fit.

[StatisticalOutlier]

I didn't find the Chicago couple all that repellent.  Maybe the guy shouldn't have been eating, but at least he was doing it over the bag to catch crumbs.  And you can vacuum up crumbs--not sure how you deal with gouges from rocks on the bottoms of people shoes when they get in the damn bathtub. 

Or maybe it was that the realtor was their friend--the three of them had an easy rapport.

 

[Empress1]

27 minutes ago, StatisticalOutlier said:

Or maybe it was that the realtor was their friend--the three of them had an easy rapport.

Yeah, I liked that it seemed like they all liked each other. Even when the wife was giving her husband shit, it was good-natured. And the realtor (call me, Eli) greeted them both very warmly every time.

[javajeanelaine]

I loved, loved, loved that Oldtown townhouse.

[msmarjoribanks]

On 4/23/2020 at 9:29 PM, NYGirl said:

Chicago pretentious people carrying around Starbucks and snacks to each house and the reveal.

That first place..yikes...it reminded me of a bomb shelter.

I LOVED the second townhouse with the reading nook!  OMG move me in immediately!

Not a fan of the third... purchaser called it cookie cutter.  I'm with him.  I can't believe they picked it... no doorman!! 

Well as long as he got a place to hang all of his art he'll be ok.

Yeah, the second one was clearly the best, but I knew they wouldn't take it because he was Mr Precious West Loop.  (I'm old, so thinking West Loop is all that, let alone over Old Town, which IMO is a much better place to live and the lake does in fact matter, annoys me.  But West Loop is hot with the Mills.)

Of course, I really do live out in the 'burbs (Lincoln Square), but it's cheaper out here.

[Trillium]

I think HH should check up on a lot of these couples to see how quarantine life is treating them. For a lot, I imagine things are not going well. 

[chessiegal]

14 minutes ago, Trillium said:

I think HH should check up on a lot of these couples to see how quarantine life is treating them. For a lot, I imagine things are not going well. 

While that would be interesting, no one should be producing tv shows right now. They are not an essential business. Everyone needs to stay home.

[Trillium]

5 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

While that would be interesting, no one should be producing tv shows right now. They are not an essential business. Everyone needs to stay home.

It was a meant as a joke...but many shows are doing virtual shows. 

[DonnaMae]

On 4/22/2020 at 9:17 PM, KLovestoShop said:

What was with that computer generated voice?  It was stupid sounding and beyond irritating. 

Is this the way of the future on House Hunters?  She sounded like the GPS voice in my car.  

[chessiegal]

3 hours ago, Trillium said:

It was a meant as a joke...but many shows are doing virtual shows. 

I apologize. Evidently being at home for almost 2 months is making me cranky. Our local paper had a headline a few weeks ago saying domestic violence abuse complaints were up 25%. I need to remind myself I'm home with someone who makes me laugh.

[ByaNose]

Single lady in Dallas. Very expensive (IMO) condo. It was over $400,000. Wow! I think I’m doing something wrong because I can’t afford that let alone $300,000. T said, if I was spending over $400,000 I want a house with a pool. LOL!!!

[LittleIggy]

Dallas: Didn’t she pick the one with the HOA as well as the highest price? I liked the realtor/friend.

[KLovestoShop]

The Dallas episode, I really liked her friend who tried to give her a shot of reality, but the buyer was set and determined and nothing was going to sway her.  I loved the new house in the suburbs and thought you got more for the money, and no association fees.  I’m not fond of industrial looking homes, so I didn’t like her choice of the condo. 

[buttersister]

I loved Portia, the Dallas realtor. Her reactions to her friend’s bs were just great. Now I want a Portia and Richard back-to-back in HH Dallas and HHI London.

A four-story condo in a hot area for $462k? Yep. I see less space in the middle of Chicago for that price. Location. Location. Location.

[Ohwell]

Dallas:  I loved the house in the suburbs, all it needed was landscaping on the outside.  However, I can understand her wanting something more low maintenance, although I didn't like that drab, depressing looking condo.

I liked the realtor.

[ByaNose]

I'm not into the modern condo from the outside. It looks too space age for me. I don't mind it as much on the inside but the outside is a turn off for me. I can understand a young-ish person who isn't married or has no kids not wanting to live in the burbs. When you're young you want to be downtown where the action is.

[CrazyInAlabama]

On the Dallas episode, the one she chose with the higher price, and the HOA fee was awful.   I don't care what she did to that closet, I bet the guest bedroom is full of clothes racks, and the second they stopped filming, she rolled them back into the main closet.  

I loved her real estate agent.   I bet you can find a single family, with an individual look, closer in than the one in the burbs.  

The Redding CA episode has the worst hair color jobs, and cuts I've seen in one place, ever.    And naming the girls Liberty and London?     And note to the husband, if everyone rides a quad, five acres isn't enough.   

Edited April 30, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[swissair100]

This will be interesting. Starts in June.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.today.com/today/amp/tdna180355
 

[topanga]

2 hours ago, swissair100 said:

This will be interesting. Starts in June.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.today.com/today/amp/tdna180355
 

This could be great. I watch a similar show with comedians doing play-by-play commentary of couples going on blind dates, and it's hilarious. 

[LittleIggy]

Redding, CA: What was with the husband’s metrosexual hair? 😆 OMG, that carpet in the house they bought was unbelievable.