House Hunters

[quote] #8 - People on House Hunters b like "Hi, I work in a surf shack & my husband plays in a mariachi band and our budget is 1.2m"

According to these house hunters MUST have a double vanity (God forbid we have to share a sink), stainless steel appliances (the bigger the better), hardwood floors and vaulted ceilings and have a beautiful view (even if their budget only allows for a view of a car park)

The frau wants stainless steel appliances and a huge island, even though the extent of her cooking is placing a Dominos order. What's with the fucking double sinks? How did humanity survive in one-sink bathrooms all these years?

I love it when Americans move to Paris/London/Prague/Tokyo on a $1,300 a month budget and want 2 bedroom, 2 bath home with gourmet kitchen in the City centre near all the shops and clubs and museums.

I love House Hunters Int'l, and now there is Island Life or something.

I was surprised that of what you can buy on St. Croix.

I was laughing at the crap you get in Panama. OMG. Even the potential home buyer decided just to build her own home.

A family moved to Sydney and wanted to rent a house with beach views for $2000 a month. I kept waiting for the real estate agent to laugh in their faces, but she indulged them.

Sydney is an expensive city to live in, $2000 a month ain't gonna get you a beach view. The wife could not seem to understand this- the husband was willing to spend more but she was adamant that they could only spend $2000.

They ended up settling for a red brick house with an outside toilet (no beach view)

I love how the fraus are always looking for huge balconies/patios to "entertain" their guests (whatever that means).

If one member of the couple walks in to a "walk-in closet" the other must shut the closet door behind them and then they both giggle about it.

Every time a Paris house hunter tells me what their house in Texas is like I knock down half a bottle of a good red off-camera.

LoL R9! I love Adrian. If anyone wants a house in Puglia, I know the realtor they use. You can have a Trulli fixer upper for a steal. If you want to live in a troll house and all.

I love the "I want an open floor plan so I can talk to my guests while I cook". I always seem to be chasing people out of my kitchen with my open floor plan apartment. The chef needs space!

Why is it so popular?? Do you really need to chat while preparing a meal??

R10 I agree. As much as (think) I love open floor plans, I don't know if I want my guests watching everything I do in the kitchen (not that I have anything to hide!)

Also, it annoys me how the international house hunters always need a guest room because they have friends and family who will surely visit. (and God help the realtor if the room is on the small side) I'd be sending my friends to the nearest hotel!

I've been hooked on this show for years, and also the spin-offs (HH International, etc.).

I was watching one episode where a couple was looking for a place in Chicago. Their budget was 1.2 million. They ended up buying a condo on like the 35th floor, it was only around 800 sf, 1 bed, 1 bath, TINY, no outdoor space or balcony, and they also had to pay condo fees? which were 1500 a month. Who the fuck would pay over a million for THAT? Oh, and no parking. If they wanted a parking spot, it was something outrageous, like 25k a year. Helllll no!

I loved watching this when it first came out with Suzanne Huang and ratchet couples buying ratchet houses with weed-choked backyards in San Bernadino County and the far reaches of the SF Valley for $350K.

Now it's gotten super upscale and the people more objectionable, but it's still addictive.

I'm surprised they don't have an interactive version though, where audiences get to vote on which one the couple should buy.

And yeah, the "space for entertaining" thing is funny.

[R8] what you said and that totally original, ALWAYS delightfully hilarious comment from the wife about the single large, MB closet: "This is mine - where will your clothes go?"

The open floor plans are nice for family gatherings or if you have kids you need to keep an eye on while cooking.

Happy wife, happy life

One of my best friend's friends was on HH Int'l. I know the woman, but not well.

She and her husband were looking to buy a house in Sweden, so they decided to contact HH for the hell of it. They never heard from them and figured they weren't going to hear back and went forward bought the house. Six months later HH got in touch with them. They explained they already purchased a house. The producer told them that it didn't matter and they were still interested in meeting them. Cut to the chase, they were chosen and HH filmed their "house search". Movers emptied their house completely, they filmed them 'looking' at it. They had to find two other houses to look at and her brother-in-law, who is Swedish, was their "real estate agent".

So after hearing that, any illusion I had that House Hunters was real was shattered.

Loved HHI, but only when they did very offbeat locales, like Paraguay, Fiji & Botswana. Interesting to see what homes looked like there & what they cost.

Tuned out when it was Americans or Canadians buying a cookie cutter vacation condo in the Caribbean. Not exciting. And the wives were always fat cunty housefraus.

R18 is Fredrik Eklund

Interesting R18

It was definitely real in the early years or real-ish, as I remember googling some of the realtors and they were legit.

I'm sure they've learned enough since then to realize that they lose nothing by completely staging things--makes everything easier in the long run

'So after hearing that, any illusion I had that House Hunters was real was shattered'.

With HH Intl I started to get suspicious by the number of people turning down the cheaper and nicer options because they didn't have dishwashers.

And yes, I enjoy laughing at the people moving to the centre of a European city who want old world charm and atmosphere with modern everything, space and an outdoor area on a budget of 1500 euros a month.

[quote]Loved HHI, but only when they did very offbeat locales, like Paraguay, Fiji & Botswana. Interesting to see what homes looked like there & what they cost.

Me too r19. It is so interesting to see how people live in these places. Houses in Botswana are so cheap.

[quote]Cut to the chase, they were chosen and HH filmed their "house search". Movers emptied their house completely, they filmed them 'looking' at it.

This is always the case. They need you to be in escrow before they'll go through the trouble of shooting an episode with you since they wouldn't be able to tape you at your new house if the sale fell through.

Love it or List it has got to be the most scripted of all of those types of shows. It's just so OTT ridiculous, with all the faux quibbling/arguing after the "love it" woman goes over budget or can't make the entire wish list come under budget. I could swear I read somewhere that that is Hillary Clinton's favorite show.

It astounds me how many people are so unaware of basic home renovations and maintenance. It is equally astounding how many people consider "entertaining" and having guests as a critical component of their home search. Sure, they may love your open kitchen but were all those stairs/steep driveway/tiny yard/bad neighborhood worth the trade off?

If I was buying a house so I could have guests and entertain (which I do, and do quite well), I would have four ensuite bedrooms with my own in a separate wing of the house.

They all want a home office too. Just fucking work off the kitchen table in your open kitchen if you need to work home.

I've rented an apartment from Adrian Leeds, she also does short-term rentals. She's a real character. I go to Paris quite often and see her around the Marais, always so easy to spot.

A home office is so 90s.

[quote] A family moved to Sydney and wanted to rent a house with beach views for $2000 a month. I kept waiting for the real estate agent to laugh in their faces, but she indulged them.

You do know this is a thoroughly scripted show, like all reality shows, right? The people on it know exactly how much things cost because they've already bought or rented their house/apartment when they are approached by the producers of the show.

The "I want to rent/buy for a ridiculously low amount of money" is simply part of the script, providing "drama" and "disappointment" and then an "attitude adjustment."

Or do you really think these people just happened to walk into a realty office that has a camera crew ready to go record their multi house "search"?

Another fake reality show. These people aren't hunting for anything. They've either already bought the house they end up with or are in escrow.

I'm well versed in how shows like these work. I have a background in TV production and my partner was a producer on an interior design show for 15+ years so we get what is staged and what is not. We prefer British design and real estate shows like Grand Design and our new favorite Escape to the Country. ETTC is similar to House Hunters in that they show a couple (who want to move to the country) three different properties. The third is labeled as a "Mystery" property but usually looks very similar to the other two. The couple looks at all three and then decides which they like best and that's pretty much the end of the show. There isn't really a resolve where they buy the house. It just kinds of ends on which they like and the possibility that they might put in an offer or maybe not.

R31 thinks he is saying something new.

I know it's fake but the fat hausfraus crack me up. There was a couple moving from Seattle to Italy and the wife wanted to live in town, which was a very old medieval village. The realtor could barely contain his contempt because he showed them an adorable apartment in a 13th century building that had been updated and she was complaining about not being able to park right in front of the building and you just know the realtor was thinking "bitch, get yo fat ass walking". It was in the town square so it was pedestrian friendly. Then she complained how her hot tub wasn't going to work anywhere in it.

I like the cute realtor in the London shows.

R33 thinks his shit comes out in plastic bags.

Family and friends staying with the buyers when visiting is ridiculous. Space for them shouldn't even be a consideration. Let them stay at a hotel.

Can someone enlighten me why people need so many eating areas? Most of these houses feature bar stools at the kitchen counter, a dining area in the kitchen and a separate dining room. It seems like such wasted space.

I am condo hunting right now and I HATE open floor plans.

Some of the condos (in the area I want to live) have small kitchens with large cut-outs on 2 side walls and THREE doorways. Apparently the idea is to keep the kitchen open to connect with guests or receive some sunlight.

While it would be nice to have a window in the kitchen, I don't want to look into the kitchen from my living room.

I have begun to assume that I will buy and then close off the cut-offs and two of the doorways. I would rather have more space for a kitchen table and chairs and extra storage than all those cut-out and doorways. The single doorway would be the one closest to the entry door and dining room. I don't need to enter the kitchen from 3 different directions. The condo is not that big.

Even worse are the units that have removed almost all the kitchen walls, put a counter top at one of the cut outs so that the kitchen runs into the living space.

I like to close my kitchen door when cooking so smells don't drift through the whole living space.

Clearly I am in the minority.

I'm with you, r38. People have been brainwashed but it's really just a way for builders to cut corners and build more cheaply. Those open plans cost way less to build. And they really cut down on storage.

What really gets me are the ones on a budget that MUST HAVE a fucking BREAKFAST NOOK and are willing to spend a ton of extra money on a large enough island for the whole family to be seated at, with at least four bar stools.

Here's a thought. Eat your fucking breakfast at the table. How 'bout doing that.

Not sure where you live r38, but you might want to look into older townhouses. Older as in late 1800 - early 1900, they usually have that wonderful butlers pantry between the dining room and kitchen too. I also hate the open kitchen, an open dining/living room is okay though.

Seriously, what is the age group of most of these buyers? I think that all of this "I want-must-have-wishlist" crap with the open concept where they are willing to tear down walls to get it and the need for a private office and extra space to entertain and an extra bedroom for friends and family to stay over and a breakfast nook so they have a special place to eat the breakfast they don't know how to cook, and a cozy deck/terrace area so they have another special space to enjoy their morning coffee, and on and on, is mostly a GenXer thing.

Okay, I'm living in a house that has a dining room, breakfast area and huge island. It was my bf's when I met him. We use the dining room and breakfast table at Christmas and Thanksgiving when we have company over (the kids in the kitchen and breakfast area but the rest of the time we eat at the island. One of us can sit and nurse a glass of wine while the other cooks. So yeah, no one really needs all this "eating/entertaining" space. We have company over quite often but it's not a large enough crowd to use the tables and everyone always ends up in the kitchen and sitting at the island anyway.

It's disheartening to see how unimaginative most of the home buyers are on this show. Everyone wants the same damn things: ensuite bathrooms, Jack and Jill bathroom sinks, great rooms, sliding barn doors. granite countertops, back splashes, farm kitchen sinks, double ovens . . .

Also amusing are the new parents who exclaim over stairs and fireplaces being too dangerous for little Xanthippe or Dionysus and they might burn themselves or fall down the stairs. Bitch, please, hundreds of thousand of kids have grown up with stairs and fireplaces. Toddlers aren't totally stupid and if they feel heat they'll back off, same as animals, but these helicopter moms are ridiculous or perhaps it's more like mom is buried in her facebook and not watching the tots.

On about 99% of the episodes, the MUST HAVE list includes the following over-rated and in many cases annoying features:

"Open concept" - a misplaced wall separating the kitchen from being open to the entire rest of the house is an IMMEDIATE DEAL BREAKER if it cannot be "blown out" (as in "maybe we could blow out this wall")

The MUST be tons of room for "entertaining". Do these people actually even do this more than maybe once a year if that? Who entertains large groups at home?

Granite countertops

Stainless steel appliances (despite the fact they probably have never cooked in their lives)

Hardwood floors (certainly NOT laminate wood or *gasp* and trace of carpet anywhere!!)

Double vanity in the master suite (does anyone EVER actually use the bathroom while someone else is in it??)

An enormous walk in closet for the female, who remarks something like "I can fit most of my things in here but I don't know where you will put YOUR stuff" while giggling and thinking it's cute to say that to her husband/boyfriend. (Bitch, it's just not cute.)

MINIMUM of 4 bedrooms for 2 people, because each needs a separate home office and there MUST be a room for guests

NONE of the rooms can ever and I mean EVER be "a little small"

The backyard must be HUGE so precious 8-pound Fido can run around

The garage must be a 3-car garage (NOT 2), because otherwise where would we store all our stuff?

The price must be BELOW MARKET because we certainly will NOT be offering full market price!

Open floor plans are for young people who don't give a shit what their place looks like. People with taste and class prefer a room for each function.

What particularly cracks me up is when some couple who is moving to Easter Island or Bhutan won't settle for anything less than a guest bedroom since their friends and family will be visiting them ALL THE TIME!

Another favorite is the concern for kids. I can watch my kids from here or watch them play in the backyard. My Mom couldn't wait to get us out her sight. How special parents are these days.

My mother would say: "Go away and make us miss you."

I enjoy seeing how houses in other parts of the country (and the world) differ from what I'm used to.

*sigh* R30 yeah I get it's not totally real, but I still dislike that part of the show. It's just that I don't care about that type of 'drama', it's unnecessary.

The wives are portrayed as the alphas, while the husbands are usually shown as whipped betas. Is this reflective of most hetero marriages?

How much do these house hunters make for an episode?

So many women married to gay guys. Gay voice for days. And they know a little too much about design.

I'm disappointed to learn that it is all fake. I only watch HH Int'l and have always been fascinated by people moving overseas to live. Always interested in seeing the reasons for their choices (I understood that part at least to be staged for the camera condensed to fit The show) Seeing them in their new place and city a few months after they've settled in has always been important .

Several porn actors have ended up on this genre. Gay and straight.

Most of the house hunters, whether looking in America or abroad, they act like childish spoiled brats. I have no patience for them.

Man Cave!!

I saw one the other day, both the husband and wife had to each have their own walk in closet.

Then I think how somehow my husband and I shared a normal sized closet and never thought a thing about it.

All the house hunter shows are fake and staged. As is Property Brothers, Love it or List it and Property Virgins. All the participants have already bought the house they choose. Those weird Scott twins are rarely even there when renovations are happening. People do it because they get design advice and some free labor. There are plenty of sites out there like Reddit that has stories of past participants. The one that is really bad is Tiny House Hunters. They said they find people to pretend they want to buy a place. Or they find people who already own a tiny house and ask if they want to act like they're looking. One tiny builder said on Reddit that he was called by the company and asked if they could stage one of his houses and if he could say the price was actually lower than it was so it would jive with that weeks show .

I seldom see any of them go for something different. It is always the open floor plan, huge kitchen master bedroom that will only fit two pieces of furniture.

By the way if you are going to have kids, the children should be on one side of the house, the adults on the other side.

The British shows don't seem to be as faked. They hardly ever buy a house or even make an offer on Escape to the Country (a show I find fairly boring - the house hunters are always nice and boring.

I really enjoy Location Location Location. The hunters often don't buy on that show, too. It shocks me how much people have to spend to get what looks like complete crap in London.

I love it when Americans say they want an Italian kitchen when moving to Italy. Then, they become unhappy when they, in fact, get a Italian kitchen bc they are, in fact, in Italy. And the Realtor thinking/looking what is this, what is wrong with them?

(R64) Exactly. They get a kitchen with a tiny refrigerator, barely any freezer space and forget about an ice maker, an all in one washer/dryer next to the sink that takes 2-1/2 hours to do a load (then you have to empty the watery lint trap), a wall mounted water heater right next to it, no garbage disposal or dishwasher, a window for ventilation from the stove and empty walls because kitchens often come without cabinets. Wake up and smell the espresso.

They're moving to some poor island nation (tranlation CIA) and they want granite countertops.

Granite countertops! I never take anything for granite. They'd be better off requesting Italian marble.

Not sure if it's shown outside the UK, but my favourite is "A place in the sun: home or away" where they look for a new home either in the UK or somewhere warm like Spain. The couple are supposedly in disagreement and one of them must be persuaded that "home" or "away" is better.

Inevitably, the charming villa in sunny Spain wins out over the damp farmhouse in Wales. But they don't actually commit and buy something. The final scene shows them drinking sangria at a sunset bar in Malaga and saying they'll need to think about it some more.

But surely some episodes are real? How many times have I seen the surgically enhanced bottle-blonde trophy wife nag her middle-aged, Hawaiian shirt-wearing husband towards the more expensive property that's obviously out of his budget? It seems so real.

What about the yanks who go apartment hunting in Paris expecting (and insisting) that it have an unobstructed view of the Eiffel Tower? Do they think that view was waiting just for them to move to Paris?

I saw the episode with the African American lady going to teach flight attendant school in Botswana. She was lovely. One of the few Americans without unrealistic expectations or a grating, overbearing personality. Her demands, likes and dislikes were normal which was so refreshing. Was happy for her when she got a nice week-lit house with plenty of space.

What's in it for the participants of the House Hunter episodes if they really aren't looking for a house and aren't benefitting from some construction or re-decorating?

[quote] Does anyone watch this show?

No, Rose. That's why it's on twenty times a day.

[quote]What's in it for the participants of the House Hunter...

Being on TV. And $300 (at least that's how much they offered us to delay our move for three weeks - laughed in their faces).

I saw one with a woman who described herself as a "princess" and her husband even bought her a tiara that she wore. She was horrible. She was demanding a huge McMansion with a sweeping staircase from the huge foyer with 18 ft. ceilings up to the balcony overlooking said foyer, which of course had a huge chandelier. All so she could really feel like a princess. Ugh!!!

My mother was visiting and we both looked at each other and rolled our eyes in disgust at her antics.

I wonder if this woman was also on My Sweet 16??

R75 my prediction with the overgrown princess is that hubby is looking to dump her ass for being too high maintenance and needy.

There's always someone looking at a kitchen in Singapore or Rome and saying she won't be able to cook a turkey in that small oven. You're not going to be cooking a turkey there, asshole. And in the U.S., there's always a couple looking at a deck off the master bedroom and saying, "Oh, I can really see us out here having our morning coffee." You're never going to drink your morning coffee on that deck, ever.

God forbid there should be white appliances.

R77 I hate those assholes.

Unless you have a coffee bar in your bedroom or servants you will go down to the kitchen, you know, where the coffee maker is, and drink it like other people do.

I've been enjoying Escape to the Country on Netflix, mostly because of the geography lessons.

They dropped one couple like a hot potato when his picky ass bitched about all three properties they were shown because they weren't big enough to suit him. He was moving from a small semi-detached place in the city but he must have been expecting rooms the size of basketball courts. The show host was like, "Best of luck. Hope you find what you're looking for. Bye." It was refreshing.

The other couples all seemed to decide on one particular place, whether they go ahead and make an offer or not.

R77 HAHA yes!

As much as I love this show, some terms get a little repetitive

"A space for entertaining..." "Perfect place for my morning coffee..." "Granite countertops..."

and so on...

I want a Tuscany Kitchen. Where are my granite counter tops? Really, these people should not be allowed out of our country. They are an embarrassment.

"The wallpaper border in the powder room is kind of a deal-breaker."

People watch this show because it's so much fun to hate on The Ugly Americans that agree to participate.

"I like this window over the kitchen sink. I can see the kids playing back there while I'm cooking" "This room has a lot of natural light. " My favorite is when they walk into a small house and after they've clearly seen the whole thing, will ask "is ther another bedroom or is this it?"

You know it's fake and they've already closed on the property because they always pick the house with no furniture. So it's after they've closed but before they move in. And they do it for the chance to be on tv. I'm sure there have been a few realtors who have submitted clients so they can get on national tv and get free advertising. If you look at shows like Love it or List it the open house is always staged. Look at every for sale sign on HGTV. Super cheap Home Depot signs

Open floor plans are noisy. Only go for it if you never want to hear your television anytime you run the dishwasher. Unless you also like the random sounds the fridge makes constantly. Or, if you plan on not really ever using the living room as a living room.

Hardwood floors in a kitchen are a terrible idea. They almost always get scratched up whenever anyone drops anything like a knife or fork.

The appeal of double vanities is that you can put your stuff where you want it and not have to move it constantly. It's the only "need" on these shows that I stand behind. But, if you have to share, then it's ok to share.

I agree (r85). I have hardwoods in my kitchen and they're a nightmare. The room had them in there when we turned it into a kitchen. They scratch and are impossible to keep clean. I'm thinking of pulling them up to tile.

I wish they made a show that took these spoiled, entitled, bitchy couples that can't live without double sinks, walk in closets and hardwood floors and make them live in a Brazilian favela for 3 months.

I sold all y stuff to move to Costa Rica to have a slower life. WTF...Are you gonna live out the rest of your life on your savings?..Do these people actually move to places permanently or just for a short time?

*my stuff

Tonight's HHI has a couple in Italy. Beautiful country

R90 I'm watching too.Is the whole city actually surrounded by a wall?...If that's so then Trump can surely pull this off

My friend is a realtor, and says that HH and it's similar shows has really had an effect on young couples/families looking for a new home. The demands that people make on the show are what she's seeing in real life. Everything has got to be just so. She tries to break the news to them that in reality, things don't work like on TV. You don't get everything you ask for; every house has its issues.

It's still basically factual and real. They did move and they did choose a house. I view it as a dramatization.

Just watched the latest HH Intern'tl to air. Couple from Colorado moved to Cayman Islands. The wife complained that in one of the homes the washer was in the kitchen. Welcome to life outside the US! The couple decided to buy a sailboat instead of the three homes offered. Now they can sail the seven seas with two large dogs!!!

It's not surprising that these shows have inflated the expectations of buyers and caused headaches for realtors. Why does anyone need a completely remodeled home asap?

No crown molding? No granite countertops? No stainless steel appliances? And where the hell are the jack and jill sinks? THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE!

The "home office" and "man cave" etc are so that the guys have a place to watch porn and jack off

Yes, you told us alredy at r59

One time when we did this someone came in and said that the gay couple and their realtor had all switched roles for the show, and one of the gay guys pretended he was a realtor, and the other gay guy and the realtor pretended they were a straight couple. Whoever that was, it was hysterical, and I wish they would come back and tell the story again.

The new frau trend is white kitchen cabinets. Practically every female homeowner on these home reno shows wants white kitchen cabinets.

I'm a frau trapped in the body of a gay man, and I have to say that the white cabinets with stainless steel appliances is a really clean look that I love. And don't shoot me but I also love granite and hard wood floors.

^ Me too, and I am not a frau either.

R99 Most of the home buyers featured on these shows are a combination of the oldest Millennials and the youngest Gen Xers. Not all, but most. They are not all/mostly fraus on these house hunting and house decorating/remodeling shows.

Stainless steel appliances are so middle class suburban cul de sac circa 2008. I guess it's still the norm among the Midwestern fraus, based on those HGTV shows.

[quote]My friend is a realtor, and says that HH and it's similar shows has really had an effect on young couples/families looking for a new home. The demands that people make on the show are what she's seeing in real life. Everything has got to be just so. She tries to break the news to them that in reality, things don't work like on TV. You don't get everything you ask for; every house has its issues.

Your friend sounds like a lazy slut. Realtors are usually pretty dumb, and it's even worse when they're so lazy that they can't be bothered with actually doing some work.

Another Costa Rica couple is on right now

R42 back again. I forgot to mention the thing about 3 or 4 FULL baths when they only have 2 kids. Why can't they have one full bathroom for themselves and let the kids share the second bath and if a guest using a full bath just to take a pee means trooping through a bedroom then maybe a 1/2 bath/powder room for when guests are over for a total of 2.5 baths.

I grew up in a family of 7 with 2 full baths and we survived it quite well. What the fuck do they need so many full baths for? Why can't their two little snowflakes share a bathroom with their sibling.... and a fucking sink too. Since when should children have their own bathroom.

I grew up with four siblings and we all shared one full bath with ONE sink, while our parents had their own private full bath in their master bedroom That was it. No half bath. No extra full bath. It was called taking turns and being considerate. As far as relatives coming over, they had to use our bathroom but since that didn't involve trooping through our bedrooms we didn't care and didn't need the extra half bath.

I heard somewhere that HH International was tied into a church (maybe the Mormons?) and a lot of the couples were ministers moving overseas for a couple years for missionary work. That would certainly explain a lot of the provincial attitudes the couples exhibit.

Anyone confirm this?

It's all about making it easier for the parents, R106. Madalingn and JaCub will fight if one wants to brush their teeth before the other, so the possibility of having them both brush their teeth at the same time must exist at all times.

I (r103) if stainless appliances are our then what's in? I'm not being rude I really want to know. I'm ready to dump my stainless fridge (never buy Bosch!) because after 5 years and multiple problems I'm done. What's out there besides stainless and white/black?

I meant if they out, not our

Pray tell, what finish do you have on YOUR appliances, R103? We simply MUST know.

LMAO R108 ... so fucking funny. And true.

R109, Bosch makes terrible refrigerators (my sympathies!!) but fantastic dishwashers, ovens, cooktops, and compact laundry equipment. The dishwashers in particular are FABULOUS.

Yes, do get back to us regarding the latest and greatest in kitchen appliances.

[quote]Open floor plans are noisy. Only go for it if you never want to hear your television anytime you run the dishwasher. Unless you also like the random sounds the fridge makes constantly. Or, if you plan on not really ever using the living room as a living room.

So true and I have an open plan. At first, it was hard, but now, with the exception of running water, I've become adept at tuning out the kitchen noises, when I'm trying to hear the TV.

Are there any gay hosts or buyers? Seems like these shows don't mind having lesbians on, but I have never seen gay men?

I can' believe there are still posters who think that the "buyers" haven't been given a script to read. It can't be coincidence that they all say the exact same thing. How many times in your life have you looked at a balcony and said," I can see us here having coffee in the morning," or " I like the open concept, because we like to entertain." Who are they, the Osmonds? No, the script is there to read. They are getting paid to recite it word for word.

Hidden appliances are in.

R116, there have been several gay buyers on House Hunters and HH Intl.

There was one I saw recently of an insufferable young princess who had big dreams of living in Monaco, with a nice sea view, a balcony, and modern amenities. He saved all his earnings for it, but at a budget of $1,750 a month, it wasn't quite enough for the extravagance he yearned for. So his agent showed him and his mom an apartment just a step outside Monaco, in, heaven forbid, Beausoleil, France, and the guy was mortified. "But I came here to live in Monaco!" he whined. Ugh.

R188 is right, it's the hidden appliances that's the thing now. I don't know why the refrigerator in the kitchen has to be hidden away, is it not suppose to be there?

For all the reasons people hate House Hunters, I hate Tiny Houses. "Hi, I'm Susan and this is my husband Paul. I'm a professional volleyball player and Paul is a Sumo wrestler. We want a tiny house for us and our three teenage girls and two large dogs." Paul: "It can't be more than 300 square feet and has to be on wheels so Susan who's legally blind can pull it with our 1974 Pacer." Susan: "Each of the children need their own spaces and we hate lofts." Paul: "I'm a musician so I need a recording studio and Susan needs an area for pilates." Susan: "Don't forget I'm a gourmet chef and need a full kitchen and will only bathe in a tub." Paul: "We love to entertain so it needs space for having our large families over for Thanksgiving." UHG, I hate them all.

I hate that microwaves are placed so low in some of these "Dream kitchens"

R116 Many of these shows on various episodes feature a gay male couple looking to buy a home together. Many of them. Just the other night there was a gay couple buying a home somewhere in Florida and they couldn't agree on what they wanted, but were decent about it and respectful of the others' preferences and wish list. Most of these gay couples are middle-aged or about to retire. Not too many young ones.

R120, my parents just got a new kitchen. The fridge and dishwasher are hidden appliances. They look like regular kitchen cabinets.

^^^ Yes, that's it.

And over time, the cabinetry that hides the appliances will change, so even if we don't need to replace the kitchen appliances, we will need to replace/update the cabinetry that conceals the appliances. So stainless steel is still in for the moment, but slowly on it's way out.

Around 2020 these types of home buyers will be complaining, "Oh no, the kitchen appliances are all outdated stainless steel and have to be replaced."

Yes (r113) I agree about Bosch. Love my oven and dishwasher. Fought with them about my fridge after the ice maker had to be replaced twice and then the whole thing started to rust. They did nothing until I complained on their Facebook page. Then then replaced it with the same model. Two years later my ice maker has broken, it's rusting again and now everything in the fridge freezes. So out it goes. What a waste of money. Never again.

I'll never forget the couple on House Hunters International who were moving to Florence, Italy. They insisted on a place in the city center so that they could have authentic Italian charm, and then bitched because the places they were shown were not completely updated with American-style kitchens. And of course I relish any episode with people moving to Paris if they feature La Leeds as their real estate agent.

Escape to the Country is on Netflix. It's an interesting contrast.. The houses are 100-200 years old. Kitchen counters are butcher block instead of granite. An enameled Aga instead of a stove. No minimalist decor, most rooms are cluttered with mismatched furniture. Bedrooms are TINY, barely enough room for a bed, and never any closets. They show a bit of the village which might have a pub and one tiny shop which makes you wonder how far they have to drive to get groceries. Since they never show buying a house at the end, you wonder if it's just a way to show off houses, lbut would you allow cameras in your house for an afternoon for $100? Doesn't seem worth it.

My favorite HH Intl episode took place in rural Bulgaria. The "houses" looked as if they had been built in the Middle Ages and there were no cars on the muddy roads, just horses and buggies.

Did you guys see the one with the older Bay area gay couple that decamped for Italy? Umbria to be exact. They did it on a whim because one of them had just defeated cancer. I actually wrote to them to see how things were going. It's funny, I have written to a couple of contestants to see what their experience is living abroad, I just google their names and somewhere I find a blog and a way to reach them. The gay couple seemed content, being there but they were in a pretty small town. One woman I wrote bough a crappy house and turned it into a b&B in Tuscany. She went there with a friend but the friend left after a few months. I got the feeling she was sort of stuck there and regretting it but accepted her fate.

I love it when the frau walks into the room with refrigerator, oven and sink and says 'oh this must be the kitchen'

These women deserve to be homeless.

I replaced a too noisy Bosch dishwasher with a Miele and I'm much happier.

My parents remodeled the kitchen in the house I grew up in with panels for the dishwasher and refrigerator that matched the oak cabinets. This was in 1984 so the concept of hidden appliances isn't anything new.

To not buy the house you really wanted because the backyard isn't big enough for your dog is one the craziest thing ever.

What about the children and the stairs? Or the balcony? WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN!!

I laugh at the expectations young home buyers have. I grew up at a time, the 60s, when no one in our town thought it was shameful or abnormal that a family with two parents and nine kids lived in a small three bedroom house with only one bathroom .

I grew up in suburbia in the '70s and '80s. My parents had the master bedroom with their own (one-sink) bathroom. I shared a bedroom with my brother, and my sister had her own room. None of us kids were allowed TVs or phones in our rooms, and we shared a bathroom.

I have a hardwood floor in my kitchen for over 20 years and it's fine

Some of the husbands/wives seem like guy guys with their hags. I'm always suspicious when the husband goes on about back splashes and crown molding.

The ones who infuriate me the most are the ones (more often the wives) who walk into some HUGE room big enough to hold a banquet for 30 and start whining "it's so small, I don't think we could fit our furniture in here". I immediately want to snap the bitch's neck.

I've never met your mother, R50, but I love her.

I know HH is fake but I love it anyway. I especially like HH International when they're in Europe or somewhere different and interesting like Manchuria or Croatia. My favorites are when they're looking for vintage or character houses or homes in older, picturesque places. McMansions are boring. I even enjoy the bad acting of the buyers as they try to keep to their lame scripts with drama like "he likes colonial and I like modern." Fake, fake, fake. I love it when you're driving around at night and can peek in windows of homes where drapes are left open. House Hunters is like that.

R131 I had to laugh when I read your post. It reminded me of this: I once fired a realtor for saying exactly that to prospective buyers.

A few nights in a row she had brought buyers over around 8:00pm when I was home and had asked her not to unless she called a few hours earlier to let me know I needed to leave for a half-hour after dinner. To make matters worse, as she entered the kitchen with the buyer she would say, "And this is the kitchen" when I had instructed her, as they entered the kitchen, to say, "The kitchen is updated with all new appliances", NOT "This is the kitchen."

I had told her if they have to be told it's the kitchen then they have no business buying a house. I had to fire her and start all over.

I went looking at kit homes on the weekend (not sure what the American term is, as I live in Sydney)

All houses are open plan and have tiled floors.

I love hardwood floors and they offer timber laminate as an option (which I don't want)

I'm not sure if tiled floors are a good option or not.

Tile wouldn't be my first choice unless I lived somewhere hot. But every House needs a little tile.

Who are these roided muscle Marys?

Whenever I worry about money, I'm comforted by the fact that I learned on HHI that I could rent an apartment in Taiwan for $600/month.

[quote]To not buy the house you really wanted because the backyard isn't big enough for your dog is one the craziest thing ever.

Well, that's not crazy. Some people like to have a patio and an area for their dog to run unleash in a safe environment.

Open plan kitchen / lounges are just glorified bedsits. People who appreciate the way cooking smells soak into their soft furnishings flaunt their nouveau pauvre pretentiousness on shows like this.

To add to the twatty bingo: Leather floor tiles, wet rooms, concrete kitchen surfaces, concrete floor surfaces, bare brick walls, rusty iron cladding, oversized windows with no curtains overlooked by neighbours, super minimalist unpainted large interiors with added echo (extra twat points for industrial looking with exposed pipes and wiring).

R385, Kublai Khan.

^^ Sorry. Wrong thread.

R146

They weren't sure about one of the houses - I think the Tudor - because they didn't know if it was near a gym.

They were one of those HH couples you love to hate.

I like "Live Here, Buy This" on the AWE network. They take a Canadian couple and show them what the value of their house could buy them in 3 different locations. The thing that always surprises me is how much homes in Canada are worth.

R152 the muscley one is also a huge Trump supporter.

[quote]Many of these shows on various episodes feature a gay male couple looking to buy a home together. Many of them.

They do here in England too.

I was watching an old episode of The House Doctor - which was one of the best of all these types of shows where she advises and fixes houses that won't sell - funny thing, with the gay couple - they never showed the bedroom - I guess cuz it would have meant admitting that they sleep together. LOL. Literally it was as though the bedroom didn't exist.

On top of that they were guys who to many/most would have passed for str8.

& of course the co-presenter was famous English gay whatsisname.

They have episodes on YT.

^ Yes, also I see gays quite often here on HGTV in the US, specifically NYC. Many of the various episodes of different HGTV shows feature gays looking to remodel or looking for a home. It is not unusual.

They let gay people live in houses these days?

Today's episode on a Portland couple (male-female) looking for a craftsman or ranch home had me chuckling. They kept holding hands like young lovers, but husband had gay voice for days and mannerisms a tad too precious.

R144, What you call a kit house would be called a "prefab" or "modular" or "manufactured" home. Due to an abundance of cheap labor (Mexicans) and corporate homebuilders' desire for profit$$, based upon what they call "site-built homes," even though they are completely identical McMansions, kit houses have never caught on, except in limited areas and during limited time periods, in the U.S. Many zoning boards forbid them for no good reason at all.

The only place you see them commonly here is in a variation called a "park model." These are permitted to be installed in trailer parks instead of a trailer (again, prejudicial zoning rules are at play here).

Wow R159 here in Australia, "kit" homes are really popular- it's interesting to hear that the same is not the case in the US. Thanks for the info

Making fun of "House Hunters" on Twitter:

R160, I think it has to do with the relative ease of obtaining labor to build homes here, and protecting the home-building industry. Because kit homes are pretty cool.

God, what is up with the couple tonight from MN. He is hot, and she is a fat frau. Do. Not. Get.

I can't stop watching this show.

Two of my good friends were on HHR. It was a great deal for them. What I'm assuming were product placements, the designer and construction work along w free advice for the DIY projects pretty much doubled their budget. I love the faked drama - is it going to be load bearing, you have to rewire the 1950s house, etc.

Hubz and I often play the "which cliche will they pull next?" game. Great fun. "A kitchen remodel? Hope they bring in a designer! I HATE the "I'm gonna get my way" couples. Treating your spouse that way, forever filmed. Despicable.

Bump

Although it doesn't have an en suite bathroom, I love the guest bedroom. I can imagine my husband jerking off outside it as he spies my brother and his partner fucking the shit out of each other.

LOL, R167. Also, I hear you, R163. That seems to happen so often. A certifiably hot young man or DILF and a woman you'd think he wouldn't give a second glance to. I always secretly hope he's getting some hot action (gay or otherwise) on the side while she plays bunco and eats "better-than-sex" dessert bars with the neighbor-fraus.

Straight people are generally not as superficial as gay men who think people over 30 shouldn't exist.

I love the show, I am enjoying HHI and watching the shows in Amsterdam. You learn fast about all the stairs to some of the beautiful flats.

Where can I watch all the episodes I missed?

Queen: I'm known for my high-speed spinning.

Queen Husband: His nickname is 'The Texas Tornado'

You just cannot make this shit up. And it gets even gayer!!!!

^ Yes, and bathtubs are cesspools of germs.

Those 2 are really going to put on those cirque de sogay outfits and get up on their "circus rig" out in the yard? In Wichita fucking Kansas? Seriously? Gurl bye. They don't need to worry about paying off that mortgage.

Berber carpet! Do they still make that nasty stuff?