House Hunters "Top of Price Range"

[gwynne]

While we do enjoy watching and guessing which house they pick, there are things that just bug us.

The key words DH hates are "it's not big enough for us to have all our friends over and entertain". Hello are you buying the neighborhood hang out spot or are you buying a home for you to live in and raise your family in.

I am right there with you guys on the granite and stainless steel. I would rather have the larger home with bigger rooms and a larger yard, then have all the bells and whistles. And it doesn't have to be a McMansion either. I'll take an older well built home that needs some TLC, as long as it's not a complete gut job. Unless the price is right and would leave lots of money in the budget. Even then, I still wouldn't but in the granite and stainless steel. I - we - have never been ones to keep up with the Jones.

We are also amused when nearly every couple proclaims they "love to entertain." Sometimes it seems like they hand the buyers a script.
And yet, we still watch.

 

[cornflake]

'Tis all staged but I like it too sometimes, heh.

I think the 'top of our price range' rejection generally, like in real life, has to do with the house. If it's a house you walk into and immediately think about what you'd change - like well you could pull the carpet all up to put down wood and that bathroom really needs redoing and the roof is older - if it's at the top, there's no money for that stuff.

However, if you walk in and it's perfect perfect, exactly what you wanted and more, you can't believe your luck in finding your dream house, not only will you go to the top because you don't have an immediate list of stuff to spend, but you're willing to rearrange your finances and rebudget someplace else to have the house in a way you're not for the 'meh,' house that's ok but not everything you wanted and more.

I think the granite/stainless thing bugs because half the time they don't even know what the heck they're on about. I love when you see them walk in and touch or look at a formica countertop and ask if it's granite and then reject it. If you cannot even tell, it does not matter to you that much!

I want granite for specific reasons related to cooking and baking because I like to cook and bake and want natural stone. That's more important to me than some other feature, which would be more important to someone else.

The stainless thing, dopes on the show think stainless just = quality, without recognizing you can have terrible quality appliances with that finish. It's silly.

 

[HunnyPots]

We count how many times the hunters utter the word "dated".

We do that too! We also try and guess how long my husband can watch without yelling "idiot!" at the perspective buyers!

 

[joviroxx]

The house visits are just for show. The point is to keep the "audience" guessing. The folks are already in escrow with their chosen house, the rest is "Made for TV".

 

[goofy!]

love the show, but if I hear the word "charm" again, I think I will throw the remote through the tv.

 

[Green Tea]

"Space to entertain" is what kills me. Buy a house you need for your family. I know I'd never buy a house just because it would be great for my once a year party. Jeez.

And "Natural Light" as opposed to all the homes that I have toured with the big theatrical lights shining into the rooms.

 

[focusondisney]

(if I hear the words granite and stainless steel ONE MORE TIME )

Or 'man cave'

Mine is " there's a lot of light". Every show, almost every house! "There's a lot of light". Well, gee, there's windows with no curtains, shades or drapes. Of course there's light.

Oh, and "an office". Does everyone but me need a home office?

And I often wonder where they get the money to have the budget they have.

Me too! Especially young people starting out who need a fully remodeled kitchen (I didn't remodel mine til I was here about 20 years! ); no carpets or laminate (only real hardwood!); "en suite" bathrooms with double sinks; and the perfect neighborhood. What happened to starter houses and upgrading as you can afford it?

 

[Coconut36]

It is all staged anyway. I got turned off when a few people on these boards explained that the buyers already bought the homes long before the show. I believe they are disingenuous.

Of course it's staged..I mean does anyone think that people are buying their house based on only 3 options? The shows rarely show more than 3 houses, yet most buyers will look at many many options before settling on one. When the realtor calls the cameras are magically there and so on..it's obvious for sure. However that doesn't bother me in the least..I enjoy seeing the different homes, what a certain dollar amount gets you in a given area, what people like and don't like in a given home (and I like to think about what I would like or not like in that home )

Back to the OP question..people can have a "top of their price range" meaning they could do it but might prefer to keep below it. I think many times if they found "the" house they might go to the top..in other cases they might see a home that is "eh" and needs work on top of being so high and that makes it undesirable. They might be holding out hope they can get what they want under that top range..etc. I think there are a lot of reasonable explanations as to why they have a max and why they might decline a house for being at their max.

Lots of people have the ability to live below their means..live at home, smaller house, rental apartment/house and save a decent down payment so they have the means to buy at a certain price point.

I agree about enough with the "man cave" and some other terms but I don't fault many of the buyers that go in with certain things that are non negotiable for them and they require. I have lived in my house 18 years and may or may not ever move again (right now the idea of having my home paid off before I am even 50 is very appealing!) but I am very very opinionated when it comes to home purchases..there are many things I flat out will not compromise on so I totally understand them wanting a home to have certain things..homes are a huge investment for some and a long term one at that so having things you can't stand or don't want to live with is a big deal when putting that kind of money into something.

 

[karenos]

Or 'man cave'

Or "great space to entertain" I like a good party, but who entertains all that much?!!

karenos

 

[Andtototoo]

I don't mind that it's staged. I just like looking at the houses and trying to guess which one they're buying.

I watched Love It or List It for the first time last night and the female homeowner was so OBVIOUSLY overacting, it was painful. I turned it off.

What happened to starter houses and upgrading as you can afford it?

I wouldn't buy a starter home today because there is no guarantee I'll be able to sell it when I need a bigger place for a growing family later on. I know quite a few people right now who are stuck in their starter home that they can't sell.

 

[Goofycampers]

Another term I'm sick of is "open concept". Every house is not meant to have every single room open to each other. Trust me, open concept is great when you have little kids. But teenagers...not so much.

 

[antmaril]

I watch this show a lot - too much, really. I admit it drives me crazy sometimes. The ones that get me are choosing a home because their dog(s) will like the yard. That will be the day when I choose a home because my dog will like it.

They really need to change the "script". The wife always telling the husband that she doesn't know where he is going to put his clothes because she will use the walk-in closet. Complaining about the lack of double sinks in the master bath, even though there is another full bath down the hall. The bedrooms are small, they hate the carpeting, no granite, no stainless. It is always the same.

And yet, I watch.

 

[Octoberbride03]

I like the show, I've known for awhile that its all staged. But I don't care about that. It is nice to see the homes and try to guess which 1 will be bought. Or the dumb things the sellers do to get ready to sell.

Last week on my lunch break someone turned it on and it was kind of like going home, because the first shot was a rowing crew going down the river and I instantly knew we were in Philly. So for 5 minutes I enjoyed and watched. Then we hit house number 1 and in the kitchen is You guessed it: Stainless Steel appliances And very nice expensive counter(not sure if it was granite) with a complimentary if not matching floor. Then we spy the cabinets, and they are.........


CHEAP WHITE LAMINATE

SERIOUSLY?! They spent all that money and the cabinets get the shaft. I'd have walked right out of the house if I were the buyers.

If you're gonna have cheap cabinets that's fine, but don't go crazy on the rest of the kitchen and leave them there

I will have to look for that 1 to come around again cause i wanna see the other 2 houses and which 1 they bought.

 

[Nette]

Another term I'm sick of is "open concept". Every house is not meant to have every single room open to each other. Trust me, open concept is great when you have little kids. But teenagers...not so much.

Or dirty dishes... I love that you can't see our kitchen (and the filled up sink) from the living room.

I like the show, I've known for awhile that its all staged. But I don't care about that. It is nice to see the homes and try to guess which 1 will be bought. Or the dumb things the sellers do to get ready to sell.

Last week on my lunch break someone turned it on and it was kind of like going home, because the first shot was a rowing crew going down the river and I instantly knew we were in Philly. So for 5 minutes I enjoyed and watched. Then we hit house number 1 and in the kitchen is You guessed it: Stainless Steel appliances And very nice expensive counter(not sure if it was granite) with a complimentary if not matching floor. Then we spy the cabinets, and they are.........


CHEAP WHITE LAMINATE

SERIOUSLY?! They spent all that money and the cabinets get the shaft. I'd have walked right out of the house if I were the buyers.

If you're gonna have cheap cabinets that's fine, but don't go crazy on the rest of the kitchen and leave them there

I will have to look for that 1 to come around again cause i wanna see the other 2 houses and which 1 they bought.

We didn't change our cabinets and they were the ones original to the house... 36 years ago. They were in decent shape and we just refinished and changed the hardware. Then plopped granite on top. BUT they aren't cheap melamine cabinets either... solid wood, and custom built (for our very "uniquely" shaped kitchen)

 

[Octoberbride03]

Or dirty dishes... I love that you can't see our kitchen (and the filled up sink) from the living room.



We didn't change our cabinets and they were the ones original to the house... 36 years ago. They were in decent shape and we just refinished and changed the hardware. Then plopped granite on top. BUT they aren't cheap melamine cabinets either... solid wood, and custom built (for our very "uniquely" shaped kitchen)

I think original cabinets are great actually. but what I didn't say in my first post was that the granite and floor were distinctly dark, with a greenish tinge. So instead of complimenting the cabinets they immediately made them an eyesore.

Honestly, I should have been a decorator cause I can walk in a house and see how it should look. And if the sellers had just gone with a lighter color then the cabinets would have looked better. Not great cause, laminate, but better.

There are lots of ways to make a kitchen look nice without throwing all your eggs in 1 basket.

Now if you walk into my kitchen you will see how old and "dated" it is. And as much as I'd love to improve it it is a bit of a problem child cause of how the house stands. God knows what I'll do with it if we ever sell it.

 

[Octoberbride03]

Or dirty dishes... I love that you can't see our kitchen (and the filled up sink) from the living room.

Oh yeah, gotta agree with this

Its bad enough the neighbors drop by and see everything piled on the dining room table

 

[Nette]

I think original cabinets are great actually. but what I didn't say in my first post was that the granite and floor were distinctly dark, with a greenish tinge. So instead of complimenting the cabinets they immediately made them an eyesore.

Honestly, I should have been a decorator cause I can walk in a house and see how it should look. And if the sellers had just gone with a lighter color then the cabinets would have looked better. Not great cause, laminate, but better.

There are lots of ways to make a kitchen look nice without throwing all your eggs in 1 basket.

Now if you walk into my kitchen you will see how old and "dated" it is. And as much as I'd love to improve it it is a bit of a problem child cause of how the house stands. God knows what I'll do with it if we ever sell it.

I wasn't trying to be defensive. I did sort of miss the point about dark floor and counters with (cheap) white cabinets. I think you're right, if they'd gone with something lighter it probably would have looked loads better.

I'm also with you in that I can totally see the potential in a house. Well, most houses... some I'm pretty sure have NO potential short of gutting them (saw a few like that over thanksgiving this year... )

 

[EMom]

I watch this show a lot - too much, really. I admit it drives me crazy sometimes. The ones that get me are choosing a home because their dog(s) will like the yard. That will be the day when I choose a home because my dog will like it.

This is the point at which DH and I look at each other, roll our eyes and say, "DOG PEOPLE!" There are people who love their dogs and then there are "dog people." The ones who buy a $600,000 house based on what Fido or FiFi will enjoy. "Fifi (who is the size of a rat) will LOVE this yard!" "Fido will adore this space!" (We'd call it a living room, but it's HGTV, so it's a "space.") And they will reject an otherwise perfect home because the family canine might not be suitably enthusiastic over it.

I can understand taking certain pet-related matters into consideration when buying a bouse. One single woman had an older arthritic dog who could not manage stairs, so she preferred a one-story. That made sense to me. We must buy a house with a place for a litterbox that is hidden away from sight and smell. But I do not consult kitty about what constitutes a perfect house. And I notice NO ONE ever says, "The cat will adore this house!" or "This flooring is not suitable for kitty." No, it is ALWAYS dog people. Never cat people.

As long as we're talking terms that annoy us....and I'm a fan of doing away with the term "man cave".....aside from "space", I have a loathing of "price point." It's just price. Period.

 

[fairestoneofall]

i don't care if it's staged. i love this show. honestly, i like to look at all the houses. i love "love it or list it" too, even though it is the SAME thing every week (their house has some issue that causes them not to be able to afford all of the renovations they want). they hate all the houses David shows them until the very last one. still, i watch.

when we moved last year, i had a list of "must-haves" and a list of "would likes." one of them was that the counter NOT be formica. i didn't care if it was granite or silestone or what. i just didn't want formica because that is something my DH will never get around to changing. i just wanted to have the kitchen to not need anything upgraded.

i am one who also needed a home office. i work out of my home and my kids are homeschooled. i was over my workspace being in the family room and my kids workspace being the kitchen table. i like to hide that mess.

 

[Kimberle]

I "love" the young 20 somethings buying their first house. Budget: $150k, "must have's" everything in a $500k house and refuse to "settle".