House Hunters "Top of Price Range"

[Plannin'Shannon]

Does HGTV’s “House Hunters” Provide a Script?

Posted by Val Olivas in The World of Entertainment

*snipped*

It just seems to me that the vast majority of the episodes aired have the same script-y and predictable feel to them; from the buyer’s individual reactions of each home previewed, to realty jargon, to expectations. I’m guessing the script comes with a glossary of sorts. Here’s some of what I think it must include (I realize it’s not alphabetized – get over it):

Targeted neighborhood: An area of town considered to be very trendy and far beyond the buyers’ actual budget.

Budget: The entire amount of money that our trusty mortgage lender approved for the buyers. And I mean, the absolute top dollar.

What we need: We need about 5% of what we say we need. We actually are just greedy and consumed with appearances and hope to disguise these flaws by purchasing a home in our targeted neighborhood.

Suburbs: The end of the earth.

Outdoor space: Grass, not concrete. Mowing, not power washing.

Public transportation: A way of appearing to be environmentally conscious, but really we just need it because we can’t afford a car since we exceeded our budget and now live at the end of the earth in our new targeted neighborhood.

How it goes:

Buyers to realtor: “Where are you taking us?” This is way too far from my targeted neighborhood.

Realtor: “It’s an up-and-coming area. Since your actual budget is ridiculously small, you can really get more bang for your buck just a few blocks away from your targeted neighborhood.” It’s a graffiti-filled, burglar-barred, overgrown grassed, paint-chipped block of renos. But don’t worry, you can only legitimately buy crack from just one out of every three houses AND they have a neighborhood crime watch. At no additional cost. (The word “bang” might be suspect.)

Buyers: “We were really hoping to be closer to the city where the action is.” You seriously couldn’t be closer to the action than in this up-and-comer.

Buyers walk into the house and hit the living room first. “Oh, this is cute. But it has carpet. We were really looking for hardwoods. It’s a little small and I reeeeaaaally don’t like the paint color on the walls.”

Proceeding to the dining room. “Hmm, I don’t know. We’re looking forward to inviting both of our families over at Thanksgiving (and a few co-workers, a handful of our new neighbors and possibly a homeless person or two) and well, I just don’t think everyone will fit in here. It’s kind of small. And the light fixture. I don’t love it. It’s gotta go.”

To the kitchen. “Ooooooh, I was really looking for a more updated kitchen with granite and stainless steel appliances. These six-month-old black appliances that are in pristine condition have…got…to…go. Immediately. This looks like a total gut job. It is an eat-in kitchen, but it’s kind of small.”

To the family room. “The fireplace is nice. Great character. Does it work? Hmm, I was really looking for an open floor plan. This is completely separated from the kitchen and makes this room seem kind of small. I don’t think our furniture will fit.”

Down the hall to the master bedroom. “Halls are a wasted use of square footage. Having said that, this hallway is kind of small.”

The master suite. “This is nice. I love the ceiling. Oops, the ceiling fan is dated. It’s gotta go. Where’s the bathroom? This isn’t an en suite? I was really hoping to have an en suite. Is this the closet? It’s kind of small.” (Wife to husband, “Where will you put your things?”)

Up the stairs to the extra bedrooms and bath. “More carpet. We were really looking for hardwoods. Even though not a single wood plank could be found downstairs, we’re utterly shocked that the upstairs isn’t smothered with wood. This plush looks and smells brand spankin’ new, but it’s carpet. So, it’s gross. It’s gotta go. What size are these bedrooms – 15’x17’? Wow. That’s kind of small. We’re planning to have triplets. Girls.”

To the upstairs bath. “Is this the original tile from when the house was built in 2011? It’s gotta go. There’s something about this bathroom that is not…quite…right. I think…no…well…yes, maybe it’s kind of small.”

And on to the backyard. “Wow. It’s only an acre? We DO have a Yorkie and she needs room to run. This is kind of small. She might get fat.”

http://notolivias.wordpress.com/2012/01/10/does-hgtvs-house-hunters-provide-a-script/

 

[DeaverTex]

What is the average age of the newlyweds on these shows though? I think generally they are in their mid to late 20s or 30s. People who have established themselves in decent jobs or been steadily working their way up the ladder.

We bought our house at 18 and 23..DH was in the better spot financially than I was then but we still had a down for the house and the ability to furnish it.

I guess we just haven't been living right, then. I've been working for a small land development consulting company for 25 years, and Mrs. Tex has been a Women's Health NP for over 30 years. One of the little calculators on line says we could afford a little over 200K.

eta: The quote from Coconut36

 

[Coconut36]

I guess we just haven't been living right, then. I've been working for a small land development consulting company for 25 years, and Mrs. Tex has been a Women's Health NP for over 30 years. One of the little calculators on line says we could afford a little over 200K.

I put in my salary before I quit work (higher than our entire household income now) and DH's salary back then (we would have been 28 (me) and 33 (him) with me working at the same company for 12 years and him in his 5th year of teaching. We would qualify for over 600K based on income alone

Obviously income is going to vary based on what career people are in and average salaries/cost of living in an area. What they qualify for is going to depend on money in the bank, credit history, and debt they might have (student loans, car payments, cc debt)..etc.

I am sure they pick and choose who they go with based on how much they qualify for/what they will be looking at and the area they are looking. All for more interest, drama..etc.

 

[Swan4Me]

I have to chime in because I have one of those "type" shows filming in my office at this very moment. I work for in facilities for a Manhattan real estate office and have seen a number of these shows filmed. At least on my end, everything is staged. All those shots of agents at their desks on the phone or signing documents is "recreated". Even walking through the hall holding important looking files. (My personal files have been on TV!) Usually the agents here work in cubicles, but when they're on TV, they suddenly work in one of the nice executive offices. Yesterday, I spent the afternoon hanging artwork in a conference room so it would look nicer. Even the receptionist was swapped out last time they filmed here for a nicer look.

All in all, though, it doesn't stop me from watching these shows. I love them!

Which one?????

Presently watching Million Dollar listing & these 3 very young agents seem way too inexperienced to be real

 

[chewbacca]

http://notolivias.wordpress.com/2012/01/10/does-hgtvs-house-hunters-provide-a-script/

 

[Swan4Me]

http://notolivias.wordpress.com/2012/01/10/does-hgtvs-house-hunters-provide-a-script/

LOVE it!!!!

 

[Nette]

This thread is hilarious! Add me to the list of people who are hooked on House Hunters even though so much of it drives me crazy!

My biggest pet peeve is the word SPACIOUS. "The den is so spacious" "Look how spacious the master bedroom is!" What's wrong with BIG? Sometimes I think the buyers are threatened that they will be tased if they use the word big instead of spacious.

Someone also mentioned the closet thing. It goes without saying that the wife will say to her husband, "The master closet is really spacious.....but you'll have to use the closet in the spare room." Or something along those lines.

I know they have to keep up the suspense by finding some drawbacks to each house. But it kills me when they make their choice and say, "House #3 just fit our needs perfectly!" when 10 minutes earlier they were saying the kitchen was dated or the yard was too small.

But I hardly ever miss a new episode!

If I ever get a chance to be on this show (and I hope not because I hate moving!) I'm so going to turn that line on it's head. DH is the one with all the shoes in our house.

You left out the part where you see the dog at the end of the show and it's a tiny little thing that really doesn't need a 2 acre lot! LOL

Dh and I are addicted to this show, probably bc it's always on. We are constantly talking about the double vanity. I've been married a long time and somehow we can get ready with only one sink in the bathroom!
Or dh's favorite, I need a place to grill

Yep, us too... and we've talked about adding a second sink, but can't really find a good configuration so we've decided we can live with it. We have for the last 7 years... Does his gross shaving cream and whiskers in the sink gross me out? Yeah, but it grossed me out in our old house when we had separate sinks, so it doesn't really matter.

Hahaha. Well, house hunting with me would drive people crazy, it seems.

I've moved more than I would like and might be able to explain some things:

"Top of the price range" -- I have never been honest with a realtor about my price range. It's all a game and I know the rules. Plus, I always have three numbers -- the number I'd like to spend, the number I plan to spend, and the number I actually spend. None of these numbers have anything to do with what the bank says I can spend. With relatively artificial top price ranges, it is easy to buy at or above that range. Basically, my house hunting range reflects what I will spend on "a" house. If I find "the" house, I'll go to the top or a bit over.

"This will work" -- common phrase for me. I tend to buy for location, which means I'm often looking at the least expensive homes in a more expensive area. I am looking for a home that will "work." There are certain things I know I can live with and ones I know I can't. "This could work" comes out when I hate the cosmetics of a home but can see the potential in the bones. Or when I'm in a location I really like, but am less than thrilled with the house -- can I work with it, even though I don't like it, or will it really be a daily problem.

"Space" -- I do probably say this. I do think is terms of space. Rooms are just were the walls are right now. I usually look at a house and think about how the space is arranged. I'll repurpose space or think about how I can rework the flow of the house if necessary.

Granite -- I couldn't care less about. It is much cheaper to put in than people tend to think. (When I sold one house, I put in granite because it looked like I spent 3 times as much as I actually spent -- house sold the next showing after it was installed.)

Wall color -- I also don't care. Wallpaper, on the other hand, will give me pause. I won't not buy a house because of it, but I will have a visceral reaction against it before my rational self returns

Entertaining space -- actually fairly high on my list. We like to have people over. I like to have space to set up tables and that is conducive to people being comfortable. I will trade bedroom space for "entertaining" space any day. I also find that homes with good entertaining space are good for family living -- it keeps us out in the open, while still not being on top of each other (and not retreating to bedrooms).

Home office -- actually important. We do a lot of work from home, so having a dedicated space makes that possible. It needs to be quiet. It is also nice to be able to shut the door on work so it isn't staring you in the face from a corner of the living (or worse, sleeping) space.

I also walk through houses picking apart everything. It doesn't mean that I will end up making a decision on that basis, but if I don't care enough to comment on anything, then I'm not really that interested in buying it.

Even though the show is fake, I still love being able to see the houses. I tend to watch just the recap at the end though

I know! I shudder what these people would have thought of our kitchen when we bought the house. It had chipped faux marble laminate counters, mauve and maroon tile backsplash except behind the ancient (came with the house 30+ years ago) stove where instead there was grease stained yellow laminate. We lived with the awful stove for a couple of years (maybe not that long) and then got good appliances, but we only recently replaced the counters and backsplash... and granite is NOT THAT EXPENSIVE... especially in a fairly small galley kitchen like ours... I think it was only about 200 more than putting in laminate.

I put in my salary before I quit work (higher than our entire household income now) and DH's salary back then (we would have been 28 (me) and 33 (him) with me working at the same company for 12 years and him in his 5th year of teaching. We would qualify for over 600K based on income alone

Obviously income is going to vary based on what career people are in and average salaries/cost of living in an area. What they qualify for is going to depend on money in the bank, credit history, and debt they might have (student loans, car payments, cc debt)..etc.

I am sure they pick and choose who they go with based on how much they qualify for/what they will be looking at and the area they are looking. All for more interest, drama..etc.

When we bought our first house 13 years ago, we were going off my salary alone which was in the 40K range... the bank approved us for a $400,000 loan!!!! Are you joking? I shudder to think what they would approve us for now.... No chance that we would ever buy that far above our means.

I love trying to figure out what the mortgage payments on these expensive houses must be... I honestly can't imagine having a house payment that is $2K or more! Really? Some of these come out to my entire paycheck in a month.

 

[Coconut36]

If I ever get a chance to be on this show (and I hope not because I hate moving!) I'm so going to turn that line on it's head. DH is the one with all the shoes in our house.



Yep, us too... and we've talked about adding a second sink, but can't really find a good configuration so we've decided we can live with it. We have for the last 7 years... Does his gross shaving cream and whiskers in the sink gross me out? Yeah, but it grossed me out in our old house when we had separate sinks, so it doesn't really matter.



I know! I shudder what these people would have thought of our kitchen when we bought the house. It had chipped faux marble laminate counters, mauve and maroon tile backsplash except behind the ancient (came with the house 30+ years ago) stove where instead there was grease stained yellow laminate. We lived with the awful stove for a couple of years (maybe not that long) and then got good appliances, but we only recently replaced the counters and backsplash... and granite is NOT THAT EXPENSIVE... especially in a fairly small galley kitchen like ours... I think it was only about 200 more than putting in laminate.



When we bought our first house 13 years ago, we were going off my salary alone which was in the 40K range... the bank approved us for a $400,000 loan!!!! Are you joking? I shudder to think what they would approve us for now.... No chance that we would ever buy that far above our means.

I love trying to figure out what the mortgage payments on these expensive houses must be... I honestly can't imagine having a house payment that is $2K or more! Really? Some of these come out to my entire paycheck in a month.

Oh yeah..don't get me wrong..I don't necessarily think what I qualify for is good or something I would want..just what the calculator gives me based on our income.

I will never forget a friend of mine buying a house when she was single..when she went to qualify they told her X amount and a monthly payment of up to Y amount. She said she about croaked and said "how exactly am I supposed to you know..eat, pay my utilities..etc at that high a payment". So what you are approved for isn't always what you "should" be using as your price range for the house because of the size of the monthly payment but everyone is different in how their income is and how they allocate it.