TLC Show: Moving UP

[racheleich]

Has anybody ever seen this show? It's shows 3 families who move into new houses (Family A moves to a new house; Family B moves into Family A's house; Family C moves into Family's B house) and then they see the changes that are made to their old homes.

Anyway, the episode I just saw was horrible!!! One homeowner didn't do a house inspection (b/c her real estate agent told her not to) before she closed on the house. The house had bad wiring, bad floor joists, termites, other rodents... Anyway, she had to put a TON of money into all the repairs. I felt so badly for her (even though it was her fault she didn't do an inspection)! And, the family that sold her the house knew about one of the rodent problems. The really bad part was that they were hardly even sorry about all the problems they left her with!!

I'm fuming at that couple that sold her the house. They're so lucky they didn't have a house fire or something while they were living there with their two kids.

 

[Regina]

I saw it. My heart broke for that poor young lady.

I don't know about the disclosure laws where they are, but I really hope that she has grounds to sue them for not revealing the problems that they were aware of.

 

[MomofKatie]

IF the former homeowners knew of the problems, they should have disclosed them. However, the old adage "Buyer Beware" is a good one. The buyer should have gotten the home inspected. By not doing so, she essentially agreed to buy the house "as is". It is unfortunate she had to do so many repairs, but if she had the house inspected, she would have known about the problems.

I watched the episode- the former homeowners seemed very upset that there were so many problems, but it didn't seem that they were concealing anything... these were problems of an older home. The rat burrows I could see as cause for concern, but they explained that they were no longer inhabited.

If the homeowner should be upset with anyone, it should be her Realtor! To actually advise her NOT to get the house inspected? That is unethical and borders on criminal. That agent just wanted her commission- she didn't have the buyer's best interests at heart.

 

[DVCLiz]

Oh, how I love this show!!! Not only tonight's episode, but all of them. I adore seeing the changes people make, and how odd some people's taste is. I'm sorry, LOTR fans, but the hobbit house tonight was beyond the pale for me - I thought that woman was a nutcase!!! And anyone who doesn't get a home inspection is just an idiot, realtor advice or not. I don't think my bank would approve my loan unless I had an appraisal and inspection in hand.

Doug was never my favorite on Trading Spaces, but his style seems to work on this show.

 

[racheleich]

I do like the premise behind the show - it's intriguing how different new owners can make rooms/homes look.

And I completely agree to ALWAYS do a home inspection. I guess what bothered me most was the LOTR couple knew there was a dead squirrel in the ceiling, but didn't go into the attic to remove it b/c they'd already closed on the house. Instead, they slept with the windows open because of the smell of the dead animal!!! Then that dead animal attracted the maggots which hatched into the flies. So, to me the couple didn't take proper care of the house after they closed on the deal.

 

[Lisa F]

I haven't seen tonight's episode yet (I have it on my Tivo) but all of the episodes are in NY/NJ. I know in NY that the seller can pay the buyer $500 at closing in exchange for having to disclose NOTHING. The laws are VERY VERY skewed toward the seller in NY. There wasn't even a disclosure on our 120 year old home when we bought it a year ago. It's totally a case of buyer beware.

 

[ericamanda01]

I agree that it was wrong of the couple to not tell the new owner about the problems. However I would be willing to bet that she got a really good deal on the house. Besides Buyer beware, she should have had the house inspected, the real estate agent was just looking to make money. It did turn out to look beautiful in the end.