# Ugh. Why do the guests on House Hunters act like such twats? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 19, 2011, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-why-do-the-guests-on-house-hunters-act-like-such-twats/600104 "2011-10-19T03:17:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 3:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-why-do-the-guests-on-house-hunters-act-like-such-twats/600104/1 "2011-10-19T03:17:32Z")
Seriously. A better question might be why do I keep watching it. I have no idea. Do the producers tell the people to act obnoxious? FWIW, House Hunters International generally doesn’t seem as bad - are they produced by a different group? ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 3:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-why-do-the-guests-on-house-hunters-act-like-such-twats/600104/2 "2011-10-19T03:31:09Z")
That show is so obnoxious. I only watched it a few times before I threw my hands up in the air and said “never again.” I mean, seriously, they say stupid-ass things like “I don’t like the couch.” WTF? You aren’t getting the couch! How does that even factor in? ---
**Author:** ![alice\_in\_wonderland](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alice_in_wonderland/32/176_2.png) [@alice\_in\_wonderland](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alice_in_wonderland)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-why-do-the-guests-on-house-hunters-act-like-such-twats/600104/3 "2011-10-19T03:32:38Z")
> [@voguevixen](#): > > That show is so obnoxious. I only watched it a few times before I threw my hands up in the air and said “never again.” > > I mean, seriously, they say stupid-ass things like “I don’t like the couch.” WTF? You aren’t getting the couch! How does that even factor in? It seems like they have been coached to be as negative as possible about every house, even the one they wind up buying. HHI isn’t like that, although I suppose having people snarking about various island paradises wouldn’t be very believable. ---
**Author:** ![Raskolnikov](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ac8455/32.png) [@Raskolnikov](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raskolnikov)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-why-do-the-guests-on-house-hunters-act-like-such-twats/600104/4 "2011-10-19T04:00:14Z")
spoiler alert: the people who are on the show only get $500 for appearing. they are already under contract for one of the three houses. why have a camera crew follow them around for 20 houses if they don’t have one under contract? that’d be a little too expensive. (almost) nobody buys a house after only looking at three. they are coached to say both positive and negative so it doesn’t give away which house it theirs. this does lead them to sounding like annoying twats more than they should however, I’m firmly convinced many are still twats who need little encouragement from HH producers. the show is soooo dumb. not everyone wants: stainless steel app. granite counter tops double vanity open concept/kitchen overlooking family room – good for entertaining, b/c everyone on that show “entertains” alot apparently let’s stand in front of a window and remark how there’s lots of “natural sunlight” no shite!!! :smack: HH is worse than the worst, ridiculously scripted, POS, cliche, t.v. show ever produced b/c it truly is the same stuff every single episode. ---
**Author:** ![drastic\_quench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e36b37/32.png) [@drastic\_quench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drastic_quench)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-why-do-the-guests-on-house-hunters-act-like-such-twats/600104/5 "2011-10-19T04:10:42Z")
This is why: [Mitchell and Webb - Avocado Bathroom - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWoWHzq21tA) ---
**Author:** ![Sitnam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Sitnam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sitnam)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-why-do-the-guests-on-house-hunters-act-like-such-twats/600104/6 "2011-10-19T04:16:10Z")
> [@Raskolnikov](#): > > spoiler alert: Don’t say your post is your cite. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-why-do-the-guests-on-house-hunters-act-like-such-twats/600104/7 "2011-10-19T04:31:08Z")
> [@Raskolnikov](#): > > . > …granite counter tops… I have never seen a granite counter top that didn’t want to make me barf. Why are they so popular? ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-why-do-the-guests-on-house-hunters-act-like-such-twats/600104/8 "2011-10-19T04:36:25Z")
> [@Raskolnikov](#): > > they are coached to say both positive and negative so it doesn’t give away which house it theirs. I suspect that they’re also coached to continually make comments as they go through the houses (because just watching people walking through houses is boring TV). As a result, you get the people making inane comments like, “I don’t like the color”, or “I don’t like the drapes” – inane comments on things that they’d immediately (and easily) change if they bought the house, because they have to think of _something_ to say. ---
**Author:** ![voguevixen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b5ac83/32.png) [@voguevixen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/voguevixen)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-why-do-the-guests-on-house-hunters-act-like-such-twats/600104/9 "2011-10-19T04:45:55Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > This is why: > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWoWHzq21tA](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWoWHzq21tA) I had to close that halfway through because I was laughing so hard. ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-why-do-the-guests-on-house-hunters-act-like-such-twats/600104/10 "2011-10-19T04:51:35Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > I suspect that they’re also coached to continually make comments as they go through the houses (because just watching people walking through houses is boring TV). By Jove, you’ve hit on the secret to the success of such shows. People can be persuaded to talk as you’ve outlined, whereas paint cannot be persuaded to do so. By this clever bit of artistry, watching people walk through houses is thus made more interesting than watching paint dry. ---
**Author:** ![GoodOmens](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d26b3c/32.png) [@GoodOmens](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GoodOmens)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-why-do-the-guests-on-house-hunters-act-like-such-twats/600104/11 "2011-10-19T12:20:44Z")
The thing that bugs me, after my wife and I had an extended house hunting period, is that you only ever see them looking at the living space. They never go down into the basement, which is where we always started. I guess that the water heater, furnace, and evidence of water damage in the foundation don’t make for good television, but they’re critical for actual house hunting. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-why-do-the-guests-on-house-hunters-act-like-such-twats/600104/12 "2011-10-19T14:24:30Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > This is why: > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWoWHzq21tA](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWoWHzq21tA) > [@voguevixen](#): > > I had to close that halfway through because I was laughing so hard. I was laughing until the end bit. That crossed the line from satire/parody/social commentary to dark, dark, WTF. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 2:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-why-do-the-guests-on-house-hunters-act-like-such-twats/600104/13 "2011-10-19T14:47:06Z")
> [@Raskolnikov](#): > > not everyone wants: > > stainless steel app. > granite counter tops > double vanity > open concept/kitchen overlooking family room – good for entertaining, b/c everyone on that show “entertains” alot apparently > let’s stand in front of a window and remark how there’s lots of “natural sunlight” no shite!!! :smack: Don’t forget “man cave”, or every woman who, upon looking at the master bedroom closet says “Where will you keep your clothes??” I love looking at houses, but I’ve quit watching this show - it makes me stabby for all the reasons already mentioned. Plus you’ve got people who can’t possibly survive in a 3 bedroom house when they’ve got 2 children!!! :eek::eek::eek: No doubt they’d have thought we were raised like wolves - a family of 7 in a 3 bedroom, 1 bath, 1000 sq ft house. Oh the humanity!!! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-why-do-the-guests-on-house-hunters-act-like-such-twats/600104/14 "2011-10-19T14:54:33Z")
I suspect that, as in most so-called “reality” shows, what happened was not that the people were coached. They were auditioned, perhaps by having to do a rehearsal version of the show before the actual show was filmed. Or perhaps they were interviewed beforehand. Only the people who in auditions or interviews acted sufficiently obnovious were allowed to be on the real version of the show. It appears to me that all “reality” shows have a quota of obnoxious people who will must appear on the show. In some it’s just a few obnoxious ones per season, while in others nearly everyone on the show will be obnoxious. ---
**Author:** ![Freudian\_Slit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/5daacb/32.png) [@Freudian\_Slit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Freudian_Slit)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-why-do-the-guests-on-house-hunters-act-like-such-twats/600104/15 "2011-10-19T15:00:03Z")
They don’t seem so bad to me, though I haven’t watched HH in a while. HH International is ridiculous, mainly because it seems like Americans will gasp and swoon over anything remotely old even if it’s tiny and falling apart. ---
**Author:** ![Antigen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/848f3c/32.png) [@Antigen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Antigen)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-why-do-the-guests-on-house-hunters-act-like-such-twats/600104/16 "2011-10-19T16:01:15Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > This is why: > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWoWHzq21tA](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWoWHzq21tA) This is awesome. What is this from? Is this a show I could be watching? Because I want to! For the record, my hall bathroom has a green bathtub. I call it the Kermit room and I am embracing the green. ---
**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:** [October 19, 2011, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-why-do-the-guests-on-house-hunters-act-like-such-twats/600104/17 "2011-10-19T16:13:37Z")
> [@drastic\_quench](#): > > This is why: > > [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWoWHzq21tA](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nWoWHzq21tA) I love real estate porn, and that video is EXCELLENT! > [@Interrobang](#): > > The thing that bugs me, after my wife and I had an extended house hunting period, is that you only ever see them looking at the living space. They never go down into the basement, which is where we always started. I guess that the water heater, furnace, and evidence of water damage in the foundation don’t make for good television, but they’re critical for actual house hunting. That’s what we used to do, too. Yeah, bedrooms, nice, but I want to see the furnace and hot water heater first, thanks. > [@Antigen](#): > > \ > For the record, my hall bathroom has a green bathtub. I call it the Kermit room and I am embracing the green. We’ll have to send someone around to kill you. 🙂 Yeah, the House Hunting shows can get pretty silly, but I like looking at other people’s houses. I also like seeing how stupid people can get (“How can we possibly raise two children in a tiny little 3000 square foot house?!?”). ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-why-do-the-guests-on-house-hunters-act-like-such-twats/600104/18 "2011-10-19T16:17:25Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Don’t forget “man cave”, or every woman who, upon looking at the master bedroom closet says “Where will you keep your clothes??” What I watch for in every show is the awkwardly-held arms. I think the producers must yell at all of them: “GET YOUR HANDS OUT OF YOUR POCKETS!!” So for the whole show, they don’t know what to do with their hands, and their arms are just hanging there awkwardly, the way nobody stands. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-why-do-the-guests-on-house-hunters-act-like-such-twats/600104/19 "2011-10-19T16:29:31Z")
> [@Antigen](#): > > This is awesome. What is this from? Is this a show I could be watching? Because I want to! I believe it’s a segment from the sketch show “The Mitchell and Webb Look.” ---
**Author:** ![Lightray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lightray/32/391_2.png) [@Lightray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lightray)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2011, 4:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-why-do-the-guests-on-house-hunters-act-like-such-twats/600104/20 "2011-10-19T16:50:01Z")
> [@Freudian\_Slit](#): > > They don’t seem so bad to me, though I haven’t watched HH in a while. HH International is ridiculous, mainly because it seems like Americans will gasp and swoon over anything remotely old even if it’s tiny and falling apart. We must be watching different HHI shows, then. The ones _I_ always see have the Americans complaining about how tiny and un-updated everything is… in the middle of Paris or Tokyo or some ridiculous place. “Oh, sure it’d be nice to have the Louve outside my door… but we _really_ wanted an island in the kitchen… and the counters aren’t granite… and I’d prefer stainless appliances instead of these old ones…” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ugh-why-do-the-guests-on-house-hunters-act-like-such-twats/600104.md?page=2)