# 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:** 5
**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 14, 2012, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/82 "2012-09-14T04:41:26Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > My wife likes one called, if I’m thinking of the right one, **Property Virgins**. From what I’ve seen of the show, the actual title should be **Fuck You, Homebuyer**. The host _loves_ asking the couple what they want and their budget, shows them a house that fits all their specs, then tells them it costs $400,000 more than they can spend and they need to adjust their expectations. She clearly loves yanking the rug out from under people. “Yeah, this house is just perfect and gorgeous, isn’t it. Everything you want. Too bad you’ll never afford it. Fuck you, homebuyer!” “Property Brothers” does that too. It does seem harsh, but I think it is the wake-up call the unrealistic buyers need. > [@Terr](#): > > My family is four (wife,two kids, and I). House is 5500 sq ft. Sometimes I feel cramped. That’s 1375 square feet per person; I’m having a hard time seeing how you can feel cramped with that much space. Do you have an incredible amount of furniture or something? ---
**Author:** ![Terr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/839c29/32.png) [@Terr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Terr)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/83 "2012-09-14T05:12:27Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > “Property Brothers” does that too. It does seem harsh, but I think it is the wake-up call the unrealistic buyers need. > > That’s 1375 square feet per person; I’m having a hard time seeing how you can feel cramped with that much space. Do you have an incredible amount of furniture or something? I like space. Diff’rent strokes… ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 8:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/84 "2012-09-14T08:42:55Z")
> [@lindsaybluth](#): > > I get that most of these shows are manufactured, but this particular aspect you mentioned strikes me as 100% fake with not even a tiny shred of reality. > > I assume that _everyone_ goes online to the local MLS and searches by their budget and their preferred zip codes. Before you set foot in a house, you should have a perfect idea of what you can afford, how much space it is and how recently it was renovated. You assume that people have a working brain and that they actually use it 100% when it comes to home-buying, when for many people that’s an emotional process; too many people buy a house when it would make much more sense for them to rent, because “a house is always a good investment”, “why rent when you can buy”, or “I want to own my own place”. When I was looking to purchase a house, one of the agents made me walk through the process of calculating how much house could I afford based on my savings; she said “the immense majority of people come in asking for things they can’t afford, I want to make sure that you don’t get over your head”. She was stunned to discover that the figure she got was a little bit higher than the round number I’d given her, said that in the three years since she’d instituted the “let’s see how much house you can afford” procedure I was the second person to have run the calculations correctly. People forget about transfer tax and record fees, or go in thinking in terms of getting a loan with as little down as possible (and getting some of the money-down from their family… or, kill-me-now, from Visa Corp.). People have no idea what their budget is; my friends in car sales and real estate have many stories of steering potential customers away from cars or houses they could not afford and which did not fit their needs at all. ---
**Author:** ![kiz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/7feea3/32.png) [@kiz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiz)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/85 "2012-09-14T12:33:41Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I’ve been watching that show (Love It Or List It) a lot lately. I’m convinced that the homeowners are _instructed_ to complain endlessly about the cost of the renovation endlessly. And I’m further convinced that the real estate agent deliberately starts by showing them homes that don’t meet their requirements. Because at the end of the show, the agent always finds a home that’s just about perfect. And I can’t believe that the people can be that rude to the designer. I wouldn’t be surprised if they planted whatever structural issue or such Hilary finds while doing the reno demo either. It strikes me as a bit contrived that they’d find similar issues in every single home. ---
**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 14, 2012, 2:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/86 "2012-09-14T14:16:48Z")
> [@Nava](#): > > You assume that people have a working brain and that they actually use it 100% when it comes to home-buying, when for many people that’s an emotional process; too many people buy a house when it would make much more sense for them to rent, because “a house is always a good investment”, “why rent when you can buy”, or “I want to own my own place”. > > When I was looking to purchase a house, one of the agents made me walk through the process of calculating how much house could I afford based on my savings; she said “the immense majority of people come in asking for things they can’t afford, I want to make sure that you don’t get over your head”. [snip] This is SO true! Buying ISN’T always the best option. I used to work for a homeless shelter and the agency had this ridiculous program of trying to turn homeless people into homeowners. It was nuts! If a recent or long-term catastrophe has rendered you homeless, the LAST thing you need to worry about is owning a home UNTIL you’re somewhat financially stable and settled with a job that is likely to last, with some health insurance, a little money in the bank. There’s a lot more to owning a home (emotionally AS WELL AS financially) than just being able to make the mortgage payment. [/rant] Another thing that kills me is when people are condo shopping and they find one they (think) they can afford because of the monthly mortgage payment, and then the condo fees are hundreds of dollars per month… they don’t seem to figure those in. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![lindsaybluth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/90db22/32.png) [@lindsaybluth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lindsaybluth)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/87 "2012-09-14T14:22:26Z")
> [@RandMcnally](#): > > I think you’re giving people way too much credit. This is so sad. > [@Nava](#): > > You assume that people have a working brain and that they actually use it 100% when it comes to home-buying, when for many people that’s an emotional process; too many people buy a house when it would make much more sense for them to rent, because “a house is always a good investment”, “why rent when you can buy”, or “I want to own my own place”. I guess this is one of those “I see it but I don’t know anyone” with it type thing. My roommate told me she dated a guy who lived with his parents who leased a BMW. I know people who live alone with beater cars. I guess those are just the people I gravitate towards. Even in work and volunteering, I interact with the working poor and the upper middle class, whose attitudes about money are actually pretty similar. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/88 "2012-09-14T17:47:47Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > HH stopped giving out the prices shortly after this. 😕 They still show list prices on the newer episodes? ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/89 "2012-09-14T17:54:58Z")
> [@DiosaBellissima](#): > > 😕 They still show list prices on the newer episodes? I just saw one where a couple was searching in a nice part of LA with a budget of $1.3MM. The two options that were there finalists were a fixer-upper priced at $799K and a nicer home with a pool for $1.3MM, so they showed the prices there. I suppose that might have been an old episode, though. (They took the fixer-upper and put the saved $500K into renovations, including adding a whole upper floor). ---
**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 14, 2012, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/90 "2012-09-14T19:01:44Z")
I always see the prices, too (which astounds me in some places - I can buy a mansion in the Midwest for cash with the profits if I sold my house here). ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2012, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/91 "2012-09-14T19:07:25Z")
I don’t watch House Hunters very often, but recently saw an episode of House Hunters International that featured a Chinese geotechnical engineer who decided to move to Berlin. They showed him several one-bedroom apartments selling for around $180,000. I was surprised that places in a world capital like that sold for so little, although these were third-floor walkups. And another episode showed an American couple from Philadelphia looking for two-bedroom apartments in Paris but finding that $2,500 monthly rent didn’t get them anything really great. So it’s kind of fun to see what places around the world look like and sell or rent for, although I’ve heard how fake the show is. ---
**Author:** ![DZedNConfused](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dzednconfused/32/15991_2.png) [@DZedNConfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DZedNConfused)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/92 "2012-09-15T19:29:12Z")
> [@AuntiePam](#): > > One woman complained that a house built in 2008 was “dated”. Seriously, do these people remodel every two years? Oh dear… mine was built in 1898. Has a stone fireplace hearth too (Which I might add NEVER attacked my toddler once) ---
**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 15, 2012, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/93 "2012-09-15T23:22:27Z")
> [@DZedNConfused](#): > > Oh dear… mine was built in 1898. > > Has a stone fireplace hearth too (Which I might add NEVER attacked my toddler once) But…but…stone is so hard! A toddler might hurt themselves! (Watch out for the sarcasm - it’s dripping off this post!) ---
**Author:** ![DZedNConfused](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dzednconfused/32/15991_2.png) [@DZedNConfused](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DZedNConfused)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2012, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/94 "2012-09-15T23:26:46Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > But…but…stone is so hard! A toddler might hurt themselves! (Watch out for the sarcasm - it’s dripping off this post!) That kid? I worried more about the house surviving.. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/95 "2012-09-16T01:58:45Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > …And I can’t believe that the people can be that rude to the designer. You’ve never worked in customer service, have you? 😉 > [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > I don’t watch House Hunters very often, but recently saw an episode of House Hunters International that featured a Chinese geotechnical engineer who decided to move to Berlin. They showed him several one-bedroom apartments selling for around $180,000. I was surprised that places in a world capital like that sold for so little… Berlin is gentrifying, but it’s still one of the cheaper European capitals. ---
**Author:** ![DMark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@DMark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DMark)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2012, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/96 "2012-09-16T16:29:11Z")
One of the most recent episodes had a couple who currently lived in Thailand. She was American, he was British. They decided that this was too far away from their families - so they decided to compromise and live “closer” so their families could come visit them more often. Fair enough. Their choice of new location? **Sicily**. Oh yeah, I am sure Aunt Betty in Boise is now more inclined to fly over to Sicily when she has a weekend free, and Uncle Max in Manchester can put the kids in the car and drive down to Sicily for lunch. Sometimes I think people on these shows should buy a map. On the upside, they did buy a nice ruin that only cost them $14,500. Granted, if there is ever an earthquake, they might die in the rubble, but hey - it was close to town. ---
**Author:** ![toast\_pakora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ec8ea/32.png) [@toast\_pakora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toast_pakora)\ **Post date:** [September 18, 2012, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/97 "2012-09-18T15:29:24Z")
(also motivated by this thread to delurk and register!) No, it’s apparently illegal and unhealthy for kids to share rooms. There was a show recently that featured three young kids, I think two girls and a boy, and they all needed separate bedrooms. With the parents and the obligatory guest room, it was 5 bedrooms minimum. I believe it was a HHI episode as well, so they were looking for a mega-mansion in another country. > [@](#): > > IIRC only HH is scripted w/ homes already in escrow, HHI isn’t. From what I’ve read elsewhere, HHI is just as scripted and often the families have been living abroad for quite some time. Now that everyone knows how fake the “search” is, I wish the producers would just acknowledge it and reformat the show so that we get to see 3 homes/apartments in x price range at y location. Or is ragging on the “buyers” too compelling? ---
**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 18, 2012, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/98 "2012-09-18T19:12:49Z")
The kids all need their own bathroom too, don’t they? So five bedroom, five bathroom house. Heh, my husband and I were talking about this the other day, and I said that I grew up in a house with seven people, with three bedrooms and one bathroom. Somehow we all survived (but let me tell you, even with two people, it’s a helluva lot better to have two toilets in the house). 🙂 ---
**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 18, 2012, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/99 "2012-09-18T20:04:50Z")
> [@toast\_pakora](#): > > (also motivated by this thread to delurk and register!) Who knew HH had such powerful reach and influence?? 😃 Hope you like it here as much as I do. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2012, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/100 "2012-09-19T04:31:05Z")
> [@Cat\_Whisperer](#): > > The kids all need their own bathroom too, don’t they? So five bedroom, five bathroom house… My mother was completely baffled as to why anybody would want that many bathrooms to have to clean. Then I pointed out to her that these people probally aren’t cleaning their own houses. ---
**Author:** ![toast\_pakora](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3ec8ea/32.png) [@toast\_pakora](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toast_pakora)\ **Post date:** [September 19, 2012, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246/101 "2012-09-19T13:58:01Z")
Thanks Helena! > [@](#): > > Then I pointed out to her that these people probally aren’t cleaning their own houses. There was an episode recently in which a family in NH wanted to buy a vacation home on Lake Winnipesaukee (\< cut and pasted that, have NO idea how to spell it). She was the blonde who carried around a small dog in her arms the whole time. They actually lived nearby so this was just for “weekends”. The houses they looked at were enormous. I think they had 3 teenage (or older) sons but still. Who wants a weekend home that requires just as much cleaning as your regular house? I suppose there are cleaners for hire in upstate NH but they’re not going to be cheap. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-have-learned-from-house-hunters-that/634246.md?page=6)