# I have learned from House Hunters that... **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 9, 2012, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246 "2012-09-09T22:37:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2012, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/42 "2012-09-10T22:06:47Z")
Hi everyone, can you believe I had to register here _just_ so I could post in this thread. šŸ˜ƒ I love the voyeurism of HH, but tend to get annoyed at the same things the rest of you do. One annoyance I havenā€™t seen is the couple in their early twenties who want a four bedroom, three bath move-in ready home with granite, hardwood throughout, open concept, etc. Budget: $115,000. :rolleyes: We own an open-concept home built in 1978 so we were cool before everyone else. šŸ˜‰ Cool is right: this thing is freaking expensive to heat! I keep telling that to the buyers on HH who want open-concept in the northern US, but no one listens! We should get a deal on our next house because I want BOXES for rooms. ---
**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:** [September 10, 2012, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/43 "2012-09-10T22:26:12Z")
Welcome, **Helena**! I wonder about those budgets, too - again, Sandra Rinomato does tend to give it very straight to the house hunters she talks to - ā€œIf you want to pay that much, youā€™re not going to find a modern, well-looked-after house in downtown Toronto with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Here, let me show you what you _will_ findā€¦ā€ {proceeds to show them crackhouse fixer-uppers and walk-in closets with a kitchen and a bathroom} šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2012, 10:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/44 "2012-09-10T22:54:00Z")
The best househunter I ever saw on that show was an older female doctor in Fargo, N.D. She was looking for a big house so she could entertain a lot of family, but she also looked at a smaller, more modern condo. She was totally open to different styles even though she ended up with the big old house. She was the only househunter Iā€™ve ever seen who didnā€™t bitch about everything, and just seemed like a really cool lady. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2012, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/45 "2012-09-10T23:00:34Z")
Thatā€™s one thing I like about the shows with Sandra. Start the show in a neighborhood they said they really wanted to be in. Ask them what they think the prices are. Demonstrate very clearly that itā€™s light years over their head. The blazingly stupid inability to get over wallpaper and paint colors is what gets me every time. Points for the real estate agent who points out that such things are cheap, bitch slaps for people who whine thatā€™s too much work. Feng Shui. Oy. ā€œI could never live in this house because the energy flow is all wrong!ā€ :rolleyes: Just fucking say you donā€™t like the layout. ā€œI think this master bedroom is a little small, donā€™t you?ā€ Huh? Itā€™s got itā€™s own zipcode, airport and a Starbucks just off the bathroom and you think itā€™s small??? :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2012, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/46 "2012-09-10T23:21:00Z")
> [@moejoe](#): > > What Iā€™ve learned from House Hunters is that the real estate agent will show one house thatā€™s ugly but a perfect location and under budget, then a house thatā€™s great but 50 miles away and over budget, and then a third house thatā€™s not all that different from the rental the buyer is hoping to move out of thatā€™s right at budget, but usually right next to a busy road. Those are your choices kids. I donā€™t see how those are such terrible choices. Most rational people go with #1 and spend the $ left int the remaining budget to fix up and end up with a well-fitting house in a great location. I always scream when they choose #2. Long commutes are proven to make you very unhappy and fat. They are rare, but occasionally youā€™ll find a wife that actually cooks and wants Quartz instead of granite and flat-front or craftsman cabinets (easy to wipe down). But going off of what **Cat Whisperer** mentioned ā€“ probably the most shocking to me isnā€™t that people are stupid, shallow and dim-witted but that theyā€™re so cruel to their spouse. ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2012, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/47 "2012-09-10T23:22:29Z")
> [@SaharaTea](#): > > The best househunter I ever saw on that show was an older female doctor in Fargo, N.D. She was looking for a big house so she could entertain a lot of family, but she also looked at a smaller, more modern condo. She was totally open to different styles even though she ended up with the big old house. She was the only househunter Iā€™ve ever seen who didnā€™t bitch about everything, and just seemed like a really cool lady. I saw this one! Itā€™s also my favorite! She forgot / didnā€™t care that the cameras were around and I loved her running out of shots because she saw something shiny in another room she wanted to get a closer look at šŸ˜› ---
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2012, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/48 "2012-09-10T23:42:24Z")
> [@kath94](#): > > I was going to say this. The show finds people who are just about to close the deal on a house purchase, and set them up on the show with two other houses. Of course they have to say something bad about the ā€œotherā€ houses to explain why they didnā€™t pick them! Apparently, they oftentimes just use houses that arenā€™t even on sale. Some people said that one of the other houses was their friendā€™s house. ---
**Author:** ![AuntiePam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f19dbf/32.png) [@AuntiePam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AuntiePam)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 12:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/49 "2012-09-11T00:58:39Z")
> [@lindsaybluth](#): > > But going off of what **Cat Whisperer** mentioned ā€“ probably the most shocking to me isnā€™t that people are stupid, shallow and dim-witted but that theyā€™re so cruel to their spouse. Not just spouses. A few years back we were treated to a couple (older guy, hot young wife) buying a vacation home, and the wifeā€™s unmarried sister was going to live in the house too, as cook/housekeeper/nanny/servant. The wife treated her like crap. Iā€™d love to know if that couple is still together, and if the sister is still with them. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/50 "2012-09-11T02:19:20Z")
> [@moejoe](#): > > What Iā€™ve learned from House Hunters is that the real estate agent will show one house thatā€™s ugly but a perfect location and under budget, then a house thatā€™s great but 50 miles away and over budget, and then a third house thatā€™s not all that different from the rental the buyer is hoping to move out of thatā€™s right at budget, but usually right next to a busy road. Those are your choices kids. And a good metaphor for life, isnā€™t it? ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/51 "2012-09-11T02:30:33Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Not just spouses. A few years back we were treated to a couple (older guy, hot young wife) buying a vacation home, and the wifeā€™s unmarried sister was going to live in the house too, as cook/housekeeper/nanny/servant. The wife treated her like crap. Iā€™d love to know if that couple is still together, and if the sister is still with them. Oh yeah, I remember that wicked princess and her poor suffering husband and miserable sister who was going to be her [del]slave[/del] housekeeper. Hopefully hubby and sister ran off together and left the princess with a foreclosure and a mop. They really should do an occasional ā€œHouse Hunters: Part Twoā€ and show what happened to the homes/buyers a few years later. I am also always amazed at the clueless who decide they are going to go off to some wildly remote location and open up a yoga studio/surf school and make a bundle. These house hunters donā€™t speak a lick of the language in that country, it would take a fortune and 19 hours travel time to get there as a tourist, you would need to fill every room, every day, for 365 days per year - just to break even. Anyone see the recent repeat of the Aussie model who RENTED a resort on Bali for $400,000/year to teach yoga? Raise your hand if you think she is raking in the required $33,334 per month to break evenā€¦(not including staff/food/fees etc.) Or the bimbos who wanted to open a surf B&B and the place they chose looked like a shanty? How about that guy and girl who wanted to make a cheese farm in the mountains of Tibet? The ruins of Stonehenge have more amenities than the place they bought. Plus, I am sure there is a huge market in selling cheese to Tibetan nomads. If they save up 63 years, maybe they could afford to go on a two day vacation to learn yoga in Baliā€¦I know this Aussie woman who could cut them a dealā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/52 "2012-09-11T03:00:00Z")
Itā€™s very important to have a big backyard - if you have a dog. Kids? They hardly need a yard. Itā€™s Fluffy who needs it. I especially like the people who need to be 3 minutes from everything, then bitch that the houses in the middle of the city are a lot more expensive than those 20 minutes away. Iā€™ve never been a fan of living in cities, but even to me itā€™s blindingly obvious that youā€™ll pay more for a prime location. Heyā€¦ **DMark** watched the same episode I did this weekend! A four-bedroom spa? Umā€¦okay. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 3:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/53 "2012-09-11T03:42:07Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > How about that guy and girl who wanted to make a cheese farm in the mountains of Tibet? The ruins of Stonehenge have more amenities than the place they bought. Plus, I am sure there is a huge market in selling cheese to Tibetan nomads. If they save up 63 years, maybe they could afford to go on a two day vacation to learn yoga in Baliā€¦I know this Aussie woman who could cut them a dealā€¦ That episode made a hell of a lot more sense when I saw somewhere that the guy admitted his female local business partner is his romantic girlfriend, he was really moving to Tibet for her not the cheese farm. This makes me wonder how many of these oddballs are in reality moving to Bali to be with a boyfriend or whatever, which would at the least make it not so odd. I wonder why they lie on the show? We were laughing out loud at a recent one where the family wanted a wider front door, they showed them trying to walk through it all at once and not being able to?! :dubious::smack: Yes they actually donā€™t seem to grasp the concept of going through a door single file, was that a joke or what? ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/54 "2012-09-11T03:55:25Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Itā€™s very important to have a big backyard - if you have a dog. Kids? They hardly need a yard. Itā€™s Fluffy who needs it. > > I especially like the people who need to be 3 minutes from everything, then bitch that the houses in the middle of the city are a lot more expensive than those 20 minutes away. Iā€™ve never been a fan of living in cities, but even to me itā€™s blindingly obvious that youā€™ll pay more for a prime location. > > Heyā€¦ **DMark** watched the same episode I did this weekend! A four-bedroom spa? Umā€¦okay. ā€œI want to live in the middle of the city so I can be close to everythingā€¦hey, whatā€™s all that city noise? Is it always like that?ā€ IIRC only HH is scripted w/ homes already in escrow, HHI isnā€™t. But there you see Ugly Americans aghast at climbing two flights of stairs to their flat. ā€œCan you IMAGINE carrying groceries up all those steps?ā€ :smack: ---
**Author:** ![ThelmaLou](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thelmalou/32/390_2.png) [@ThelmaLou](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ThelmaLou)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/55 "2012-09-11T14:47:27Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > Not just spouses. A few years back we were treated to a couple (older guy, hot young wife) buying a vacation home, and the wifeā€™s unmarried sister was going to live in the house too, as cook/housekeeper/nanny/servant. The wife treated her like crap. Iā€™d love to know if that couple is still together, and if the sister is still with them. Oh yeah, I remember this one. The guy was old and richer than God. The house was over a million bucks and still under construction. The basement was FULL of the little girlsā€™ toys. It looked like a branch of Toys R Us. I wondered if the ā€œsisterā€ was Number Two Wife or at least a spare. Re stairs: there was one the other day-- I donā€™t recall what country, maybe Spain? The woman says to her bf, ā€œHow am I going to carry five bags of groceries up all those stairs?ā€ Honey, you only buy ONE bag of groceries and shop more often. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/56 "2012-09-11T15:54:14Z")
Or how about the episode with a couple who were, HH admitted, into ā€œdressing upā€ but the man was obviously a drag queen. His eyebrows were waxed into high arches. I want to huff and puff and get offended when people say Americans are prudes but, well, Iā€™m embarrassed that such a transparent ā€œcover upā€ was necessary. Or that anything had to be said about costumes at all? I donā€™t know. Iā€™m confused. I might not have noticed the waxed eyebrows if costumes hadnā€™t been brought up. What does that have to do with house hunting? ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [September 11, 2012, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/57 "2012-09-11T16:17:27Z")
> [@Sattua](#): > > Or how about the episode with a couple who were, HH admitted, into ā€œdressing upā€ but the man was obviously a drag queen. How did I miss that one?! Damnā€¦was it a House Hunters International? I donā€™t watch the domestic version as much - kind of boring to see the same old, same old ranch homes all the time. BTW, one quote that my SO and I heard on a recent House Hunters International that made us burst out laughing was from a family moving to some province in France. As usual, totally clueless Americans who didnā€™t speak a lick of the language or know anything about Europe - but in one scene, in that French village, the mother gives her daughter an eclair and says, ā€œTry this honey. It is an eclair - **made in France**!ā€ Uh, duhā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Nawth\_Chucka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c57346/32.png) [@Nawth\_Chucka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nawth_Chucka)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2012, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/58 "2012-09-12T02:15:14Z")
ā€œStainless steel appliances are so dated.ā€ They still had the stickers on them FFS. And there was only 2 pools. And you had to go all the way to the second floor to see the golf course. /clutches pearls/ ---
**Author:** ![MyMack\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MyMack\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MyMack_1)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2012, 3:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/59 "2012-09-12T03:51:36Z")
> [@DMark](#): > > The ruins of Stonehenge have more amenities than the place they bought. . I WILL steal this gem and somehow work it into a conversation in the next week no matter what. šŸ˜ƒ ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2012, 8:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/60 "2012-09-12T08:35:08Z")
> [@chizzuk](#): > > Iā€™m surprised by the number of people that remark on features like crown molding or trayed ceilings. I think they are self-conscious about being on TV and so try to make knowledgeable comments using house-y terms about every little thing they see. Because who really gives a crap about the molding? Whatever. Hey, I do! A baroque style would look like shite in my tiny-weeny living roomā€¦ I wonder: do men abroad not want The Biggest TV Ever? Because thatā€™s both a running joke in Spain\* and something I never hear mentioned in these shows. - I rent a room from a guy who makes less than 1K/month and has a 700ā‚¬ mortgage. Dude has a TV bigger than most dining room tablesā€¦ :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 12, 2012, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/61 "2012-09-12T08:49:12Z")
> [@ThelmaLou](#): > > Re stairs: there was one the other day-- I donā€™t recall what country, maybe Spain? The woman says to her bf, ā€œHow am I going to carry five bags of groceries up all those stairs?ā€ Honey, you only buy ONE bag of groceries and shop more often. Or use home delivery: most supermarkets charge 3 or 6ā‚¬ if the value is below a certain amount, but deliver free if the amount is large enough. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246.md?page=4)