# House Hunters outrage! **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 14, 2009, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hunters-outrage/513779 "2009-10-14T13:59:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 1:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hunters-outrage/513779/81 "2011-02-22T13:59:24Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > good heavens! that is one gorgeous house! it is in the wrong part of the country for me, and has quite a bit of wallpaper, and way, way, to big for me (the cats would lose a bit of weight being chased from room to room, but dang! i’d buy it in a hot second. Seriously. 7,500 square feet? That’s twice as big as my house, and we bought a house that’s big for us because we loved it so much. Just for shits and giggles, I went to a real estate website and searched for houses in my county that were 7000-8000 square feet. [This](http://www.realliving.com/HER/OH/Westerville/43082/homes-for-sale/7142-Temperance-Point-St-56764218/popup) is the cheapest one I found. And I don’t exactly live in an expensive town. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hunters-outrage/513779/82 "2011-02-22T15:36:47Z")
> [@coolgrljen](#): > > OMG, I am watching this young couple who is moving to Knoxville, and I want to punch this chick in the face! > She is bitching about curtains, appliances, countertops, the house not being 100% brick… I was also ready to shake her senseless. Paint is cheap. You can change faucets and light fixtures and drapes _really easily_. Start giving a shit about location and floorplan and yard size… you know, the things you _can’t_ fix with a Saturday afternoon and a few bucks at Home Depot. Also, the people looking for tropical vacation homes, and who say things like “oh, gee, the bathroom is so outdated” or “boo, white appliances”… you’re going to be there for like a _month_ every year. You seriously can’t deal with that? Those shows are bad for my blood pressure. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hunters-outrage/513779/83 "2011-02-22T15:44:17Z")
One thing I discovered as I helped relatives househunt and househunted myself is to tell the difference between something which should be fixed ASAP due to considerations unrelated to taste (drafty windows) and something which will lead to an un-neutered flat or house being listed as “needs reforms” but which is a matter of taste (original 60s tiles and faucets in bathroom and kitchen, paint color), and also between stuff I can fix myself or badger a Bro into fixing (ugly lamp) and stuff I better hire a professional about (piping). Apparently most of the people looking for houses, and many of the people in those shows, have never learned those differences. I still like seeing the houses, though, and fantasizing about how would I decorate them. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 3:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hunters-outrage/513779/84 "2011-02-22T15:47:20Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > Seriously. 7,500 square feet? That’s twice as big as my house, and we bought a house that’s big for us because we loved it so much. > > Just for shits and giggles, I went to a real estate website and searched for houses in my county that were 7000-8000 square feet. [This](http://www.realliving.com/HER/OH/Westerville/43082/homes-for-sale/7142-Temperance-Point-St-56764218/popup) is the cheapest one I found. And I don’t exactly live in an expensive town. I know! I was just doing an on-line search, and expanded my search radius: Put in my bedroom, bathroom, and price requirements (4+, 2+, and -$150,000 - we live in a pretty cheap housing market,) and this popped up… Practical me is saying “There’s no way in hell - look at all of the ongoing costs of a house like that!” Silly me is wondering how much it would cost to reface the cabinets, update the appliances ('cause the countertops look fine in the photos,) and take down all of the wallpaper. Of course, we’d have to put a bell on the baby to find her in that house! And really, would the extra 30 miles of commuting KILL my husband? And how good/bad are the schools in that county? 😃 ETA: And the house is more than 4x! the square footage we are living in now. With 3 kids, 2 adults, and 2 large dogs (German shepherd and great Pyrenees.) Makes me really crazy when a young, childless couple with a Yorkie say “Oh, we need more space!” when they turn their noses up at a 2500 square foot, 3 bedroom house! ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hunters-outrage/513779/85 "2011-02-22T15:49:20Z")
I’m not a fan of extreme open concept. I’ve seen houses where the entire living space practically all one huge room. I like a few walls to define the space. Twenty years from now, I bet open concept houses will seem so dated. People will be adding walls. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hunters-outrage/513779/86 "2011-02-22T16:34:28Z")
LOL - Let us see how fast granite and stainless are outdated. There was a victorian shown on one of the shows that was fantastic. It made me want to use [these](http://www.lehmans.com/store/Appliances ___Classic_Reproductions___ Elmira ___Elmira_All_Gas_Ranges___ ElmiraGasRange?Args=) [Elmira](http://www.lehmans.com/store/Appliances ___Classic_Reproductions___ Elmira ___Elmira_25_cu_ft_Antique_Style_Refrigerators_with_French_Doors___ 1898?Args=) [reproduction](http://www.lehmans.com/store/Appliances ___Classic_Reproductions___ Elmira ___Elmira_30in_Self_Cleaning_Convection_Built_ndash_in_Wall_Oven___ 1880?Args=) [appliances](http://www.lehmans.com/store/Appliances ___Classic_Reproductions___ Elmira ___Elmira_1_6_cu_ft_Microwave_Oven_with_Matching_Antique_Style___ 1895?Args=) throughout the kitchen. Rob and I agree, realtors would love us, we have no problem with the idea of paint, ripping down wallpaper, refacing cabinets, replacing servicable appliances after they die in a few years, and we would kill for corian or real butchersblock counters. We can replace countertops. And both of us really do not like granite and stainless. We can walk into a room, and ignore strange color combinations and odd furniture. Comes from looking at tons of floorplans over the years. ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 4:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hunters-outrage/513779/87 "2011-02-22T16:42:03Z")
missed the edit - or what about the staging shows … recover MY furniture, PAINT a table? I don’t freaking think so. You want to stage, rent the damned furniture. Much of my stuff is _antique_ thank you fery freaking much. You don’t like it, I will move it into storage but I am not freaking going to “spiff up” an antique and frell its value. Hm, paint a hepplewhite chair? fuck NO. ---
**Author:** ![StGermain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stgermain/32/2868_2.png) [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hunters-outrage/513779/88 "2011-02-22T17:24:41Z")
[The house I grew up in is for sale](http://realestate.yahoo.com/Michigan/Chesaning/518-w-broad-st:293b435c148ab972e690db5a0377d). That was a great house to be a kid in. StG ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hunters-outrage/513779/89 "2011-02-22T17:26:49Z")
Yeh my memory is improving, because I remembered this old thread. Death to zombies. ---
**Author:** ![rocking\_chair](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rocking_chair/32/2918_2.png) [@rocking\_chair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rocking_chair)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 7:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hunters-outrage/513779/90 "2011-02-22T19:41:50Z")
> [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > Seriously. 7,500 square feet? That’s twice as big as my house, and we bought a house that’s big for us because we loved it so much. > > Just for shits and giggles, I went to a real estate website and searched for houses in my county that were 7000-8000 square feet. [This](http://www.realliving.com/HER/OH/Westerville/43082/homes-for-sale/7142-Temperance-Point-St-56764218/popup) is the cheapest one I found. And I don’t exactly live in an expensive town. that is the price range i would figure. 125,000 is unbelievable, although once i googled the town i understood. you may have to go for it lacunae matata! the puppies need their own bedroom. i don’t think the house i live in now breaks into the 1,000 square foot zone. houses on my street in philly are going for 250-300 thousand. a house in philly that compares somewhat to that house runs several million, and no where near the amount of lawn. stgermain that is a fantastic house. a bit out of my price range but just beautiful. ---
**Author:** ![akira5822](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/53a042/32.png) [@akira5822](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/akira5822)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 9:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hunters-outrage/513779/91 "2011-02-22T21:51:51Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > Same type of fuckwads who took a pristine Pasadena Craftsman, with beautiful original intricate woodwork and chainsaw a section of wall out so they could put in a widescreen av center. I about had a fucking heart attack when they did it. Who the fuck ruins the value of a house to out that monstrosity in just to try and flip it. Craftsman afficionados prefer to have it as original as possible. HUGE amounts of money are spent RESTORING craftsman homes that have been ‘remodeled’ back to original. Cant easily restore chainsaw leavings. Put them up against the fuckin wall. ---
**Author:** ![Morbo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morbo/32/389_2.png) [@Morbo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morbo)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hunters-outrage/513779/92 "2011-02-22T22:43:49Z")
There’s a budget threshold for HHI in which I won’t even watch. Somewhere around $200k. Unfortunately lately they seem to be going waaay past that. “Thurston and Tiffany are tired of the hustle and bustle of New York City, and are looking for a Carribean getaway where they can unwind. With a budget of two million dollars, can these rich assholes find everything they’re looking for??” Gee, I really hope so. ::bites nails:: ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hunters-outrage/513779/93 "2011-02-22T22:58:54Z")
> [@Diogenes\_the\_Cynic](#): > > My wife watches these shows all the time, and I’m constantly amazed at how spoiled and petty these people are. There was one episode where the husband refused to even consider any property that had popcorn ceilings. WTF is wrong with popcorn ceilinghs? Older ones are asbestos trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [February 22, 2011, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hunters-outrage/513779/94 "2011-02-22T23:07:46Z")
Sorry, didn’t realize this thread had been dug up from the depths. ---
**Author:** ![Lacunae\_Matata](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8491ac/32.png) [@Lacunae\_Matata](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lacunae_Matata)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hunters-outrage/513779/95 "2011-02-23T01:54:27Z")
> [@rocking\_chair](#): > > that is the price range i would figure. 125,000 is unbelievable, although once i googled the town i understood. > > you may have to go for it lacunae matata! the puppies need their own bedroom. > > i don’t think the house i live in now breaks into the 1,000 square foot zone. houses on my street in philly are going for 250-300 thousand. > > a house in philly that compares somewhat to that house runs several million, and no where near the amount of lawn. > > stgermain that is a fantastic house. a bit out of my price range but just beautiful. I agree, that is one gorgeous house **St. Germain**! I bet that all of the architectural details made it pretty fun for a kid (banisters to slide down, funky little corners to hid in, etc.) And wow: I hadn’t thought about the puppies needing their own rooms. Maybe that would help me convince my husband that we NEED this house! 😃 Another illustration of the differences in markets, though: One of the less practical aspects of this house to me is the lack of outdoor space. Even our current rental house has about .6 acres of lawn (half fenced,) and is surrounded by a further acre of woods, and we live in a reasonably urban area outside of Savannah. The $82,000 house that my husband hated had over an acre of land in a well-established subdivision in a university town. 1/3 of an acre just seems so cramped! ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hunters-outrage/513779/96 "2011-02-23T02:29:05Z")
> [@JRDelirious](#): > > Oh, and **Raza** , those properties down around the Caribbean? The ones that make the shows, it must be the agents KNOW they’re selling either to some would-be expat Yank, or to some local equivalent of the hipster-who-must-live-in-the-right-postal-code type and ratchet up the prices accordingly. Yeah, one of my co-workers is married to a nice Panamanian woman, and she laughs her ass off at HHI watching clueless people get fleeced because they _must_ live in a gated community with other North Americans. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Whisperer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cat_whisperer/32/4839_2.png) [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hunters-outrage/513779/97 "2011-02-23T02:55:06Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > \ > Actually, the most interesting thing about this show to me is the interaction between the couples. Sometimes they click very well together and other times the tension is quite apparent. I really enjoy that, too - you can really see the dynamic between couples as they house shop. I love seeing the couples that communicate and compromise and are thrilled to show each other things in the houses that they know _the other_ will like. I’m less enamoured of the couples where one member (and, honestly, it’s usually the wife) who can’t be pleased by any freaking thing. > [@Biggirl](#): > > Hey, I remember this thread. Weird, cuz me and my hubby were just watching House Hunters. We like to imagine what kind of house we could buy if we could magically transport our jobs and salaries to Huntsville, TN or “just outside of Toledo”. > > We’d be living like kings, I tells ya! I make the mistake of looking at listings in small Alberta towns sometimes - wow! We can pay cash for the entire place! Good thing, since we won’t be able to work with no jobs there… > [@Lacunae\_Matata](#): > > \For example, we recently looked at a house with “lots of potential.” Yes, there were a couple of rooms with ugly wallpaper, and the house needed flooring throughout and a fair amount of interior trim needed to be replaced. And old swimming pool needed to be filled in. It was definitely stuck in the late seventies/early eighties. BUT… 5 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms, separate dining room, very large heated/air conditioned sunporch, two full lots, fireplace in the living room. Convenient to schools, his work, etc. All for $82-freaking-thousand dollars. I can do a fair amount of the fix-it work myself, and I have a guy who will gladly work for a pretty low hourly rate, who is able to do a lot of the stuff I can’t. A cousin who is a plumber, and another who is an electrician. And my brother’s best friend (who lives just a few miles away) has the equipment to quickly and easily fill in the pool. > > I walked away from that one thinking “$10 grand worth of labor and materials, and we’d have a $150,000 house, with only $92,000 up front.” Hubby walked away saying “but it’s so UGLY.”\ My husband and I were both on the same page with our first house - it was a fixer-upper and in rough shape when we bought it, but it was lovely when we were done with it - took us about six years, and we did most of the work ourselves. Hey, send your husband in here - I’ll have a go at him. 🙂 > [@Drain\_Bead](#): > > Seriously. 7,500 square feet? That’s twice as big as my house, and we bought a house that’s big for us because we loved it so much.\ It’s seven times as big as our house, and we have rooms we don’t use now (two adults, two cats). 7500 sq. ft. sounds nice going in, but you have to _clean_ all that. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![psychobunny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/54ee81/32.png) [@psychobunny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/psychobunny)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 3:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hunters-outrage/513779/98 "2011-02-23T03:22:22Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > But there was one show recently that was quite odd. An Australian woman had met and fallen in love with an Indian man (really, he was more of an Indian boy). He was an aspiring musician of some sort. I think she had more of a Real Career, and she might have been a little older than he. It was not a promising situation. > > And some of the apartments they looked at… wow… quite a change from the big, open HOUSE she had lived in by herself back home. He kept saying, “Oh this would make a good studio space.” :rolleyes: Yeah, these were postage-stamp sized places and he’s going to cram musical instruments in there? I believe in true love, too, but this transition looked really challenging. The places they were shown were barely habitable (I live in a broken down house in the country where the siding is falling off- so I’m not Ms. Pristine Entitlement). I really wondered if their relationship will stand the stress and culture shock. FWIW, the woman in that episode has a fascinating [blog](http://www.whiteindianhousewife.com/). Her husband is actually in his late 30’s despite how young he looks. They’ve been together for amost 6 years and married for almost 3. Like you, I thought that the situation looked odd on HHI, but her blog gives a lot more insight into her character and the relationship. ---
**Author:** ![Cat\_Fight](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/90ced4/32.png) [@Cat\_Fight](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Fight)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hunters-outrage/513779/99 "2011-02-23T04:25:30Z")
> [@StGermain](#): > > I thought I read somewhere that HH actually films after they choose a house. Then they go to 2 other comparable houses to shoot the also-rans. They never actually choose between the three houses. Yes, and they feed lines to the buyers so they can build a story (e.g. this house is too expensive, this one is too small, this one is just right). Like all reality TV. ---
**Author:** ![gone2thedogs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c67d28/32.png) [@gone2thedogs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gone2thedogs)\ **Post date:** [February 23, 2011, 4:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hunters-outrage/513779/100 "2011-02-23T04:57:10Z")
Took me forever to find a house because of my dogs. First thing was to go look at the back yard, if not enough land then the house was out no matter how nice. I did reject 1 house that had a nice acre back yard and a really small house. So small that my large dogs would have had a hard time going down the stairs. I eventually walked into one backyard with a reasonable house and said I’ll take it! My realtor was very happy. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hunters-outrage/513779.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/house-hunters-outrage/513779.md?page=6)