ziggy29
Moderator Emeritus
Living in California for many years, there was a time when I thought a $300K house sounded dirt cheap. After a few years down here, it sounds like the Taj Mahal.
House Hunters
- Thread starter Moemg
- Start date
Moemg
Gone but not forgotten
I'm not shocked at the price of houses . I'm shocked that these first time home buyers are sooo picky . When did granite , soaking tubs and three car garages become a must have for first time home buyers ?
ziggy29
Moderator Emeritus
Precisely. So many of them are first timers who only have enough to look at the low end of the housing market. And then they complain that the kitchen is outdated or that it's too far to walk to the beach (waaaa!) or that the commutes are awful or that it's too small or (fill in the blank).
Or the worst thing -- they don't like the wall colors. (People, paint is a VERY cheap "fix" and should be the least of your concerns.)
What were they expecting to see in the LOW END price range of their local housing market?
DangerMouse
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
If you like House Hunters take a peek at Property Virgins. The expectations of that lot tend to make the House Hunters look realistic.
I'm not sure when a starter home transitioned from being a 1 bedroom apt. to a 4/2 300 sq foot with a landscaped lot with a massive pool out the back, but it does seem to be the minimum expectation these days.
I'm not sure when a starter home transitioned from being a 1 bedroom apt. to a 4/2 300 sq foot with a landscaped lot with a massive pool out the back, but it does seem to be the minimum expectation these days.
Hum, I just figured that in California that's what EVERYONE would expect in a home, be it a starter home. If I paid $500K for a house, it better have all the amenities I want! Granite countertops seem to be a big selling point in CA and, in that price range, it's a relatively cheap upgrade. So I can see why people would be expecting it.
Of course it also could be that some of those first time home buyers already have upper middle class incomes and matching tastes. When I watch the "can I afford it" segment on the Suze Orman Show (the secret's out
), there is a surpringly large number of young people in their late 20's, early 30's making $8K-$15K net per month. When DW and I bought our first house, we had enough income to bypass the starter home and get something nicer which we could still easily afford (though no granite).
But, but, but... they want to raise a family!
I've noticed a lot of HGTV's potential synergy going to waste. Imagine if "House Hunters" joined forces with "My House Is Worth What?", "Property Ladder", "Flip This House", "[-]Bite[/-] Buy Me", "Weekend Warriors", and "Property Virgins"?
"Holmes on Homes" and all the redecorating shows would have lifetime employment...
Urchina
Full time employment: Posting here.
We are currently house-hunting, as our small condo is rapidly putting the squeeze on us. (I say "rapidly" but the truth is that we've figured we'll be OK staying here for another 3 to 5 years if need be). In the past several months I've looked at dozens of houses, and I think the series that needs to be made is "Messed up remodel." The series could include tales of added bedrooms that are only accessible through other bedrooms, refrigerators in the middle of dining rooms, add-on rooms built without permits or any sense of structural integrity, a large amount of truly hideous wallpaper, and a particularly memorable 4-bedroom house in a fantastic school district that had been "remodeled" into a 2 bedroom, giant kitchen, one bath, no dining room "executive entertainer's dream." Sure, if all your dinners are cocktail parties and you have no kids.
What are people thinking?
What are people thinking?
My wife always comments about the young couples buying those huge houses. She wants to know what they do and how they do it.
My standard line is, They have no retirement accounts and plan on working until their dead. If we didn't max my TSP and Roths we could live like that.
My standard line is, They have no retirement accounts and plan on working until their dead. If we didn't max my TSP and Roths we could live like that.
ziggy29
Moderator Emeritus
This is the mindset I have learned to use on myself whenever I want costly "stuff." Yeah, we can afford it, but only if we allow ourselves to be enslaved to the rat race for an extended amount of time.
I can't think of ANY "stuff" I want so badly that I'd allow myself to be forced to work several extra years to pay for it. Not a nice car, not a bigger house, not a bunch of fancy electronic gizmos, not expensive and exotic vacations -- nothing.
W2R
Moderator Emeritus
You are SO right! What is a fabulous remodel for the seller might just ruin the house for me. Since I prefer houses with an attached garage, I find it particularly annoying when sellers turn their attached garage into another family room that is obviously never used anyway. "Messed Up Remodel" could be followed by "Remodeling Mysteries". For example, my present home has a remodeling mystery that I wonder about from time to time. There is an arched alcove in one bedroom that I think used to be an arched doorway - - but if it went through, it would end up in the closet of another bedroom. Maybe those two bedrooms were once combined into a master suite. But the present master suite has a big dressing room that wouldn't be expected on a guest bedroom. So, maybe the arched alcove was just intended to be an alcove. Who knows? It is a "Remodeling Mystery".Moemg
Gone but not forgotten
My current house won the hideous wall paper contest . In fact it could have won the hideous decorating contest . The bathroom had foil wall paper on the top half and leopard print on the bottom . It took me weeks to get that off . The living room windows are two and a half stories high and the owner had made tie dye curtains for them . The kitchen had llinoleum from hell with matching counter tops the light fixtures were the cheapest available . So why would I buy such a monstrosity ? My avatar is the view from my deck . My house is 3800 sq. feet with two bay front lots and I got it for a great price . I usually can not look beyond the wallpaper but this time I did .
WhoDaresWins
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
I too, am an HGTV fan, but it has lost something of its appeal to me of late. I agree that a lot of the episodes must preceed the housing bubble as everyone is gabbing about appreciation and expressing such grief if their homes have ONLY gone up $100,000 in the five years since they bought it. It is also tiresome to see the sameness of the decorating: taupe walls, granite coutertops, stainless steel appliances, master bedroom suites with giant closets, boring new furniture bought in sets, etc. I am watching more Planet Green as the homes have intelligent design and more affable owners. It is great to see smaller, well designed spaces with an emphasis on energy conservation, reuse, and a concern for future generations.
OK, I just watched a couple of "House Hunters" episodes (first time in a couple of years) and now I totally see what you mean...
I had forgotten!I am now watching a show called "bang for the buck" (new show?), and I can't believe my eyes... People renovating their basement for... $100K? In Columbus, OH? Granite counter tops and stainless steel appliances for a basement kitchen are a must apparently... Wait, why do you need a kitchen in your basement again?
LOL! Frugality is supposedly fashionable again, right?
I guess these people didn't get the memo. Now I remember why I stopped watching HGTV...
ziggy29
Moderator Emeritus
Well, in fairness, I think a lot of the stuff we're making fun of occurred before the economic meltdown and before "cheapness" became sexy.LOL! Frugality is supposedly fashionable again, right?
House Hunters, 2006 version:
"This house is too small. Where are the walk-in closets or the granite countertops? It only has four bedrooms and we want five. Close to work and on a quiet street in a good neighborhood. And did we mention we're first time buyers with 5% down?"
House Hunters, 2009 version:
"Yeah, we could probably afford the McMansion if neither of us gets laid off for 20 years. But why do we want the huge mortgage payments, taxes, insurance and utility bills? We'd have to buy a lot of stuff to fill it anyway and we'd have to drain the emergency fund for the down payment. We'd never be able to save anything with that big one. I like the cheap bungalow. It's all we really *need* anyway."
F4mandolin
Full time employment: Posting here.
There are several of these shows here in the UK as well. My wife likes to watch them (we don't have cable/sat either, guess there are 2 of us around). There is one where the couple tells them how much they can spend and the hosts almost never show them houses in their price range. Their limit might be 300,000 Pounds....and they show houses that are over that. Drives my wife nuts......"They just told them they couldn't go over 300K!!!!!!). At that time I look up from the computer and nod and agree. I was watching with her last week and they actually had a couple who were after a reasonable 2 bed semi in Cornwall. They actually showed them a couple of cute little ones we thought were quite nice. Hmmmmm, Cornwall is quite nice.......hmmmm.........
In this part of WV (and it's the "expensive" part) you can buy a brand new single family three bedroom two bath house with a garage for $120k. Admittedly that's a pretty bare bones one but it's there. Go down to "Deliverance country" and they're even less, but good luck finding a job outside of a coal mine.
In the paper last week I saw a house for $49k - two bedrooms, one bath on a slab, and not a mobile home. The ad did state that it "needed work". But unless the work needed is foundation work, put $10k in it for paint, roof, furnace, new appliances, maybe some plumbing and electrical upgrades, and it would probably be a pretty nice, if cramped, place to live for one or two people.
ziggy29
Moderator Emeritus
There's an "expensive" part of WV? Which is that -- is that the part on the tip of the panhandle which is marginally commutable by masochists to the DC area?
W2R
Moderator Emeritus
For a while, I was concerned that House Hunters would give away how low housing prices really ARE in "flyover country", and that states like Missouri would be deluged with retirees from states like California and New Jersey. But apparently that hasn't happened (thank goodness).
W2R
Moderator Emeritus
Oh YES - - a lot of people from my agency's HQ commute from WV to the DC area. It may be marginally commutable but it has become common practice, even so.
ziggy29
Moderator Emeritus
All too familiar -- when I lived and worked in Silicon Valley, we had quite a few people commuting in from Modesto and Stockton. I'd sooner have my eyes pierced with a hot poker than do that commute five times a week.
WhoDaresWins
Thinks s/he gets paid by the post
Ditto. I have a ten minute drive from my garage to the parking lot near my office. I would go insane wasting hours in the car daily. I would rather live in 600 square feet close to work than have a big house a couple of hours away. I suppose it would be different if you had kids. But heck, they would be in bed by the time you got home!
W2R
Moderator Emeritus
I live close to work too, although there are six stoplights on the way. I can get to work in 6 minutes, most mornings. There isn't much traffic and I even made it in 5 minutes once (but I have to hit all the lights). In the afternoons, it takes 10-30 minutes depending on traffic, which is heavy at that time of day. Still I agree - - living close to work is great.
Most of my co-workers have an hour or two commute, and due to gas prices many of them do it by vanpool. I think of them, all sweaty and crammed into those vans, as I sit at home with my feet up after work.
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calmloki
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
Yep - times is hard. The younkers jest hasn't come on to relize it yet. They needs to read some of the ads and have a Come to Jesus moment:
Hartshorne Hard Times Festival
Hartshorne Hard Times Festival
