We haven’t had one of these in a while. I’ve been bottling up my snarky comments and I think I’m getting a rash. So this thread is therapeutic.
My number one rant: people who move to other countries and bitch because the place isn’t like an American home. Yesterday a woman rejected a charming place in Provence because the toilet was in a separate room from the tub/sink and “there was no place to wash your hands” after using the toilet. Hell, stick a bottle of antiseptic gel on the back of the commode. Put a dispenser with rubber gloves in there and have people throw them away after they poop. Holy crap. Literally. :rolleyes:
People who look at rental properties and bitch at how the kitchen “needs upgrading.” IT’S A RENTAL PROPERTY. You’re going to live there for a couple of years-- get over it.
Today a couple looked at a place in Marseilles. They looked out the window and complained that there were damaged buildings across the way that marred the view. The realtor said that damage was from a bomb that hit IN WORLD WAR II, but the building is perfectly safe.
Also there was some water damage on what looked like a stuccoed stone wall that was probably older than the Constitution of the United States. “Ugh-- will the landlord fix that??” Um…no. Frankly, the water damage looked a lot like the faux finishes that people pay through the nose to have done in their brand new homes.
There was a house the other day in the US and according to the wife the kitchen had to be upgraded immediately. The husband pointed out that the house was at the top of their budget and asked if she could live with the kitchen for a year until they could remodel it. Wife: “No! I cannot live with this kitchen for a year!”
I know the show if a lot of fakery, but geez.
Okay, I have to go put some Aveeno anti-itch lotion on my arms. Back later.
This is not about the house hunters themselves, but it KILLS me (see the Vent Your Spleen thread) how realtors in far flung places (in this case, Borneo) say “guys,” “you guys,” what do you think, guys?" over and over. These are native residents who speak English very well with *heavy *accents and somewhere along the line got the idea that “guys” is the proper way to address people. They probably got it from tv/movies/internet, and I WISH THERE WAS SOME WAY TO STRAIGHTEN THEM OUT. But there isn’t.
I can only stand to watch House Hunters every once in awhile. That’s a problem because it runs constantly on HGTV and DIY. I don’t understand the appeal.
Have you noticed how many other shows sneak the House Hunting gimmick into them? Shows like Property Brothers and Income Property waste the first half hour “looking at houses”. It never seems to end on HGTV.
The DVR was made for House Hunters – the last five minutes.
At least on the international shows, we don’t get the stainless-granite-open floor plan mantra.
I would watch a show that just explored old houses. Don’t need the choosing gimmick. Just show me the houses. And not the newer cookie-cutter houses either. I want to see Victorians and Colonials and Craftsmans and Federals and Four-Squares. And row houses and brownstones.
This closet is less than an acre! Where will your clothes go, husband? (Cackle cackle cackle)
zOMG, WTF, where r sink no 2? I can haz double sinks?
Yes, this house checks every single box AND is under budget, but Look at that LIGHT FIXTURE!!!
Wow, I’m on a formulaic buy-and-renovate show, and the first home is always $200,000 over budget. I really like this space the neighborhood and it’s newly renovated and everything I’m looking for; how much is it? WHAT?! THATS $200k OVER OUR BUDGET WHY DID YOU SHOW US THIS HOUSE!!!???
On HHI how do the couples deal with immigration issues? Most aren’t citizens or even have a tie to the country they are moving to, even “third world countries” usually have strict immigration laws except for spouses or children of citizens. A lot of countries don’t even let non-citizens own real property, so it is strange for people to just decide on a whim to go across the world and buy a house and live there with no issue.
The realtor always shows them houses over their budget. Then they end up getting it, buying a houseful of furniture, and doing a bunch of renovation. Where the hell do they get the cash?
I would really watch this show myself, I love houses that are interesting. One of the only reasons I actually watch Entitlement Whores and Entitlement Whores International is to see the houses and apartments. I see so many places that I would be thrilled to live in, though I really have issues with the idea of randomly spending hundreds and hundreds of thousands of $US on a house, our little farm cost us $91K US and that was approaching the top end of what we could afford.
Seriously, what the hell does someone do for a living where they can just pull up stakes and blow $500 000 on a beach house in St Thomas?!
On one version of the show – maybe the one with Suzanne Whang – they’d mention the buyers’ occupations. Do they still do that? I haven’t watched for awhile.
I don’t think we’re seeing lottery winners, but I suspect some of these folks might be spending an inheritance/life insurance. Or they sold a business, hit it big in the stock market, or they’re just going deep in debt. Maybe a lawsuit settlement. I’m just trying to think of the ways people I know have suddenly come into money.
There have been housing booms. When we sold our house in Seattle, we were able to pay cash for a better house in Iowa with money left over. But that was 20 years ago.
According to the blog posts written by people who have appeared on HH, the producers require them to say anything about each room they’re seeing, no matter how banal it may be. Ergo, a lot of picayune remarks about light fixtures and OMG I NEED GRANITE COUNTERTOPS!
I sometimes have either show on as background noise. I find HHI more interesting because I’m always curious about how one lives in a foreign country. But yeah, I often wonder how they manage to be able to afford to move “just like that” if a company isn’t sponsoring them.
I also read one account that said that they’d already chosen their home and that the two other houses they looked at were owned by friends. The easy way to tell is if they’re looking at 3 houses and two are furnished and one isn’t - the one that is bare is usually the one they “pick.”
Yup - this is exactly what happens. Our realtor just finished shooting last month with a couple that applied to be on House Hunters and got selected. They did so after purchasing their house, and she had to scramble to find the other two houses to tour. Owners of houses in that price range are reluctant to allow shooting, since it’s such a hassle and there’s no chance of their house being selected.
Anyone still thinking HH or HHI are “real” is in for a big shock when they find out about Santa Claus. Especially internationally, the other two options are obviously places with tenants–with no attempt at staging. But, better to see how other people actually live! How many apartments in Ulanbator have you ever visited?
Last weekend, I saw a show set in Rotterdam. Even if it had already been selected, the grim apartment block far from downtown was depressing. Since it gave the husband a long commute & the surroundings had still not been developed; the city was flattened during WWII. There were some charming places downtown that had a bit of age on them–but they weren’t “family friendly” enough…
One bright spot is any French show with Adrian Leeds–who always says you need to compromise to find a flat in Paris. In a recent show, a Hollywood screenwriter with a small daughter was looking for a pied a terre. They were both slightly ditzy blondes but cute–hey, she makes her living in Tinsel Town. The final choice was part of an ancient city mansion, with a remodeled slice of the stables looking out into an atmospheric private courtyard. A rather precipitous stairway led to the impossibly charming room for the little girl. As usual, her mom expressed fear that her darling would break her neck. Adrian pointed out that children are agile!
I know the show is faked, but I have two other rantings anyway:
Stairways are death traps for children. Anyone who moves into a house with a stairway and children under 15 is dooming their kids. Plus, of course, the kids will ALWAYS be toddlers and will never grow big enough to safely climb stairs. (This goes for balconies, too, because toddlers will inevitably throw themselves off of them.)
And there seems to be a new rule that you can never let your children out of your sight for one minute. The mom has to be able to see the kids’ play areas in the house and in the yard at *all *times from the spot in the kitchen where her feet are fastened to the floor (in front of the granite countertops). God forbid the child should ever play quietly in his/her room. How in the heck do they expect their children to become proficient at masturbation?
My wife watches the show; I wind up watching it by osmosis.
Issues like that are never brought up directly, though I’ve noted that, in many cases, the HHI subjects aren’t actually buying, but are looking for rental properties.
Sometimes they buy. I remember one couple bought in Eastern Europe somewhere… Croatia, maybe? They don’t do mortgages there, so the buyers had to show up with a suitcase full of cash-- $250K or something.
Years ago there was a couple who were with Cirque du Soleil and they wanted a country property in France where they could set up high wire and trapeze equipment. They got what they wanted and the final scene (my fav part) showed people doing aerial acrobatics among the trees on the banks of a river. Very cool!
Some of the couples I really like and I want them to find a nice place, and some of them I hate and I want them to crawl back under the rocks where they lived before.
I used to watch these shows all the time, but the idiocy and whining just got on my nerves. It makes me wonder what’s wrong with me - I grew up in a house with TWO flights of stairs, ONE bathroom, and I SHARED my BEDROOM with my SISTER and my OTHER TWO SIBLINGS SHARED the SMALLEST BEDROOM!! We didn’t have a media room or a study or a gourmet kitchen or acres of land. How did I possibly survive without my own room and private bath? :rolleyes:
I was really disappointed to see that Income Property has turned into a shopping show. I loved seeing the apartments being built, but buying the house in the first place? Not so much.
Come to think of it, I’ve pretty much gotten over my HGTV addiction. And I don’t miss it at all.
