House Hunters TV Show

[Steamboat Marti]

Anybody else miss Suzanne Whong????

 

[disykat]

I totally get why people are critical of those who look at the current owner's furniture or paint choices. Some of the things people are mentioning have me though. Who WOULDN'T look at how much light and space are in the rooms and where they are located? Don't most people look for those same things? I'd find it odd if people didn't mention closet space, etc. when looking at a home.

 

[cybrkitn]

Really? We live up in the Hudson Valley, but wife grew up on long island and her family is still there. They are out in east islip.

Making 100k a year, you should be able to afford a house out there. I won't ask the details because that would be too personal. But you have the income to do it.

Not really. If we had no debt what-so-ever (meaning no credit cards, car loan and student loans - DH's being the biggest loan), then we could do it. But until all of that is gone, there is no way we can.

 

[focusondisney]

Anybody else miss Suzanne Whong????

Yes!

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

A friend and fellow former CM is now a realtor in Orlando and he has been on a previous episode of House Hunters and is filming a new episode for them now.

I haven't seen the episode he was on before but keep trying to catch it on reruns.

 

[momto2girls]

Anybody else miss Suzanne Whong????

Yes!!

 

[southernbohemian]

Anybody else miss Suzanne Whong????

Not really. She was a good host - but it always struck me as pretty superfluous since she didn't go to the city and speak with the couple or anything. I didn't even notice her absence for the longest time.

 

[Belle599]

I'm also a huge HH and PV fan!! I didn't know that you guys Property Virgins in the US since it always seems to be filmed in Toronto. When we were in FL last month (we live in Canada) we saw Mike Holmes on TV and we were like "what's he doing here???!!!" (he's Canadian) - we always assumed these were just Canadian shows.

We are in the midst of purchasing our first home (just waiting for the closing date essentially) and it kills me to watch HH and see these beautiful detached, 2000+ sq ft homes for under $300k in the US.....in my neighbourhood these would be over $1.5M - you guys are so lucky in the US - I am insanely jealous!

Mind you I understand that these gorgeous affordable homes are not in NY or Cali but less desirable locations.

Still, count your blessings!

 

[FayeW]

Oh I do have to say it irks me on Property Virgins when the host asks the couple what's your budget and how much do you have to put down and then says they can have a house at budget + DP. Like their budget is $350,000 and they have a $40,000 DP so the host will say "Okay we'll look at homes for $390,000" That's when I scream "Nooooooo. Stay under $350,000" Luckily our agent did not do that. I would have shot her. She maxed her searches out at $150,000 and nothing over (not even $151,000).

Actually, what she says is that they have been approved for $XXXX, and have a down payment of $XYZ, for a total budget of $XXXXYZ. So if they have been approved for a mortgage of $200000 and have $20K for down payment, they can look at houses with a purchase price of $220000. She is absolutely correct. When I do a mortgage pre-approval, the paperwork we give the clients is for the mortgage amount they are approved for, not the purchase price.

 

[Belle599]

Actually, what she says is that they have been approved for $XXXX, and have a down payment of $XYZ, for a total budget of $XXXXYZ. So if they have been approved for a mortgage of $200000 and have $20K for down payment, they can look at houses with a purchase price of $220000. She is absolutely correct. When I do a mortgage pre-approval, the paperwork we give the clients is for the mortgage amount they are approved for, not the purchase price.

Yes, this makes sense to me - mathematically. Still, it seems to me that if anybody actually purchased a house at 100% of their mortgage approval amount that they would be housepoor.....hmm makes you wonder how the whole US housing crisis started!

I think that they should teach personal finance in high school.

 

[disykat]

Yes, this makes sense to me - mathematically. Still, it seems to me that if anybody actually purchased a house at 100% of their mortgage approval amount that they would be housepoor.....hmm makes you wonder how the whole US housing crisis started!

I think that they should teach personal finance in high school.

I agree. We've bought twice and I can't even imagine having purchased something at the top of our "approval" range. Where we live, there were affordable homes - just not our dream home or our dream neighborhood. We were happy to get what we could afford, not our "dream."

The dream of living a financially free life has always overridden those other dreams for us.

 

[southernbohemian]

I'm also a huge HH and PV fan!! I didn't know that you guys Property Virgins in the US since it always seems to be filmed in Toronto. When we were in FL last month (we live in Canada) we saw Mike Holmes on TV and we were like "what's he doing here???!!!" (he's Canadian) - we always assumed these were just Canadian shows.

We are in the midst of purchasing our first home (just waiting for the closing date essentially) and it kills me to watch HH and see these beautiful detached, 2000+ sq ft homes for under $300k in the US.....in my neighbourhood these would be over $1.5M - you guys are so lucky in the US - I am insanely jealous!

Mind you I understand that these gorgeous affordable homes are not in NY or Cali but less desirable locations.

Still, count your blessings!

All of my favorite HGTV shows are Canadian (or were at least Canadian to start with) - Holmes on Homes, Property Virgins, Divine Design, Sarah's House). I am constantly amazed at how expensive houses are in Canada - you definitely don't get a lot of house for the money. But I assume that maybe you make more money to account for the high cost of living - like people in the high markets here. Is that right? Like here (Texas), if you make $70K or more a year you're upper middle class. Is that chump change in Canada?

 

[Planogirl]

I would be a bust on these shows. I like dark appliances and nice carpet in part of the house and we bought way less house than what we were approved for. I never thought about entertaining either.

They're fun to watch though. I love the HHI episodes where they take some tiny place or wreck of a house and fix it up. That's more entertaining to me than finding the 'perfect' place.

Does anyone watch Holmes on Homes? He's the one I need here!

 

[simba20]

Yes, this makes sense to me - mathematically. Still, it seems to me that if anybody actually purchased a house at 100% of their mortgage approval amount that they would be housepoor.....hmm makes you wonder how the whole US housing crisis started!

I think that they should teach personal finance in high school.

This was my whole point. Yes, the couple has been approved for $250,00 and they have saved a downpayment of $30,000, so then Sandra will say, "So your house price is at $280,000?" pushing them towards their upper limit.

Look I could have gotten a new house at $160,000-$180,000, with all the details I wanted (houses are cheap here) but the husbter and I did not want that much of a housepayment. This is our first home, and while it's not quite "starter home" staus (a bit above that), it is no means my dream home (and no my dream home is not in the million dollar range -- $250,000-$300,000 max will get me opulance and luxury that I want).

Anyway, my whole point was that I hate when she pushes couple to hit the top of the price range. If you take your time, think with your head, and not emotion or shoppign for superficial details, one can find a great home or the home they want at a lower price.

 

[FayeW]

This was my whole point. Yes, the couple has been approved for $250,00 and they have saved a downpayment of $30,000, so then Sandra will say, "So your house price is at $280,000?" pushing them towards their upper limit.

Look I could have gotten a new house at $160,000-$180,000, with all the details I wanted (houses are cheap here) but the husbter and I did not want that much of a housepayment. This is our first home, and while it's not quite "starter home" staus (a bit above that), it is no means my dream home (and no my dream home is not in the million dollar range -- $250,000-$300,000 max will get me opulance and luxury that I want).

Anyway, my whole point was that I hate when she pushes couple to hit the top of the price range. If you take your time, think with your head, and not emotion or shoppign for superficial details, one can find a great home or the home they want at a lower price.

She's not pushing them, merely clarifying for the audience how much they can afford to spend. She often asks what they are comfortable spending, and the clients usually want to spend as little as possible.

Mortgages are different in Canada. We have amortizations up to 35 yrs (but most people take a 25 yr mortgage) but the interest rate is not locked in for that entire time. Usually people will take a 5 yr fixed rate (currently as low as 4.24%) but the terms are also offered in 6mth, 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, and 10 yrs. A couple of lenders will offer for 15 or 20 yrs, but the longest term any of my clients have taken is a 10 yr. When your term expires, you can renew with your current lender or switch out to another lender for a different type of mortgage if you like. The rule of thumb for mortgage payments is about $6. per thousand dollars...so if you have a mortgage of $100K, your mortgage payment will be about $600. The payment is blended, so principal and interest is being paid out of each and every payment. The actual amount would be less, because the mortgage rates are so low now, but we tell people the higher figure when they are looking just as a ballpark figure. We'd rather over estimate the cost and have them be pleasantly surprised.

I am always stunned at the mortgage payments for American properties. On the shows I am watching the payments are often $2000-$2500 per month, while the payments on the same mortgage amount here would be several hundred dollars less. A $200K mortgage here would be about $1100, plus property tax (at that price point, about $200. per month) so $1300 per month or so for principal, interest, and tax.

Also, even if they bought to their maximum approval amount, they still wouldn't be "house poor"...we only allow people to spend up to 35% of their gross income for principal, interest, taxes, and heat., and up to 43% for all of that, plus any other debt they have. If you are only putting 5% down payment, those ratios are scaled back to 32/40, respectively.

 

[Sorsha]

Typical House Hunter Lines:

Look honey, two sinks!

Wow, look at that view!

What are they building next door?

I like this place but it's at the top of our price point.

There's no grass, nowhere for (fill in kid or dog's name) to play.

We love our home, but with the new baby we need more space.

I'm not loving this color.

The bedrooms are too far apart, I wouldn't be able to hear little (fill in kid's name) when he wakes up.

I love the OPENESS. I could be cooking and watch little (fill in kid's name) play!

Honey, I love it but there's no POOL!

I like this place but it's not close to a.nightlife b. my parents c. my job


Any more????

...but we really wanted Hardwood.

 

[Halloweenqueen]

The MOST overused line in the show...


This ___________ would be perfect for entertaining.

 

[Belle599]

All of my favorite HGTV shows are Canadian (or were at least Canadian to start with) - Holmes on Homes, Property Virgins, Divine Design, Sarah's House). I am constantly amazed at how expensive houses are in Canada - you definitely don't get a lot of house for the money. But I assume that maybe you make more money to account for the high cost of living - like people in the high markets here. Is that right? Like here (Texas), if you make $70K or more a year you're upper middle class. Is that chump change in Canada?

I think it really depends where in Canada....I am about 1 hour from downtown Toronto (given no traffic haha yeah right) and in my city the average family income as of 2006 was $94k. We just purchased our first home for about $300k and it would be comparable to a Windsor Hills townhome (1400ish sq feet if you have not stayed at Windsor Hills).

So is HGTV originally a Canadian station that was picked up in the US?

 

[Belle599]

Mortgages are different in Canada.

Since you have a lot more mortgage knowledge than I, could you explain how mortgages are different in the US? Sorry I only know how they work in Canada. Thank you!

 

[Pea-n-Me]

We crack up watching these shows and some of the demands from first time buyers. Even our kids do, too.

Our favorites are not only a master bathroom, but modern updates, separate shower and dual sinks. Don't even get us started on His and Her walk in closets. (Yeh, we wish we had all of these ourselves...) Great neighborhood, plenty of light, guest bedroom or office, granite countertops, stainless appliances, large/fenced in back yard, hardwood floors and crown molding are always fun to hear, too.

And HHI... not only ocean views but *unobstructed* ocean views, no nearby neighbors, a foot path to the beach, a good size pool, a gourmet kitchen and plenty of room for guests!

Guess we're just old and cranky.