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Old 05-31-2009, 07:54 PM   #1
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House Hunters

I am an HGTV fan especially House Hunters but lately I've wondered where they get these couples . It is either very young couples still paying their student loans looking at $600,000 houses and complaining about the granite color or it is international buyers looking at $400,000 second homes and they look like they could not afford bowling money . Is it me or have other HGTV fans noticed this ? Martha ? Old Babe ? Orchid Flower ? Finance Dude ( I know you are a secret watcher )? Rich ( I'm sure your wife watches ) ? Ha ( I'd include you but I'm sure you are watching " Dancing with the stars "
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Old 05-31-2009, 08:03 PM   #2
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Spouse has just about given up on it. I'm shocked, shocked I say, by what $225K will buy on the Mainland, and so the inevitable whining ("Aw, honey, the in-ground infinity pool doesn't have a hot tub!") is more than I can handle.

Even Groundbreakers isn't the same since Joe Washington left. About the only shows that really spark her interest are Holmes on Homes and Divine Design.
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Old 05-31-2009, 08:07 PM   #3
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I'm convinced all the House Hunter programs were taped prior to 2007 and these folks are still "shopping in the bubble". That's the only way I can explain what appears to be a major disconnect with reality.
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Old 05-31-2009, 08:22 PM   #4
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I like to watch House Hunters International, I really don't enjoy the domestic version.

What puzzles me, is 9/10 of the women in these shows will be bitching about the size of the kitchen and the fact that it doesn't have a granite benchtop. Now I would think if I was living somewhere like Paris I would not even be bothered that it didn't have an "American kitchen" as I would be planning on eating out. It's not really surprising the amount of them that buy a house in the tropics and quickly try to redecorate so it looks just like back home in the US.

I think the only reason I watch is so I can see what housing is like in other countries and the cost. My favourites are the European countries, especially Paris, but it seems more of them these days at central american/carribbean.
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Old 05-31-2009, 08:23 PM   #5
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We always laugh about the first time buyers who have an "entry level" budget and complain that homes are too small or have an outdated kitchen or have a commute that's too long or on a noisy street or have no view of the water or....
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Old 05-31-2009, 08:27 PM   #6
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I've seen it a few times and always feel short of breath while watching.
The same feeling I might have if I saw someone running unaware toward a cliff or possibly an obscenely drunk person running on the interstate. The couples do seem delusional, debating some color scheme as if it were important when they are about to bury themselves in debt that they may never emerge from.
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Old 05-31-2009, 09:03 PM   #7
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I'm convinced all the House Hunter programs were taped prior to 2007 and these folks are still "shopping in the bubble". That's the only way I can explain what appears to be a major disconnect with reality.

I've thought the same thing !
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Old 05-31-2009, 09:08 PM   #8
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I like to watch House Hunters International, I really don't enjoy the domestic version.

What puzzles me, is 9/10 of the women in these shows will be bitching about the size of the kitchen and the fact that it doesn't have a granite benchtop.

Me Too , If I could afford a second house anywhere I'd be thrilled that it had running water and a bathroom .
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Old 05-31-2009, 09:11 PM   #9
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Originally Posted by Moemg View Post
I am an HGTV fan especially House Hunters but lately I've wondered where they get these couples . It is either very young couples still paying their student loans looking at $600,000 houses and complaining about the granite color or it is international buyers looking at $400,000 second homes and they look like they could not afford bowling money . Is it me or have other HGTV fans noticed this ? Martha ? Old Babe ? Orchid Flower ? Finance Dude ( I know you are a secret watcher )? Rich ( I'm sure your wife watches ) ? Ha ( I'd include you but I'm sure you are watching " Dancing with the stars "
Yeah. I find myself checking the year of the show on our satellite guide, to see if the people are pre-crash buyers. I can't believe the young couples who insist on stainless steel, granite counters, three plus bedrooms and two plus baths.
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Old 06-01-2009, 01:26 AM   #10
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There was recently an ad on a particular international forum I frequent from House Hunters International. They were looking for people that were searching for a home in a particular country to be on the TV show. You didn't have to commit to buying any of the properties, just have to let them follow you to a few different houses for the show. The pay, I believe, was $1,200.
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Old 06-01-2009, 05:40 AM   #11
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Yeah, it must be that they were filmed before the housing bust. I watch My First Place (this show actually shows how much down payment people are shelling out along with their mortgage rate) and nobody is paying 20% down, which I thought was pretty much required nowadays.
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Old 06-01-2009, 05:53 AM   #12
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I don't watch any of those shows, but if I did I'd want to see a follow-up 3-4 years later about how things are going.
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Old 06-01-2009, 07:11 AM   #13
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I don't watch any of those shows, but if I did I'd want to see a follow-up 3-4 years later about how things are going.
"House Hunters: Foreclosure Edition"
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Old 06-01-2009, 07:18 AM   #14
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DW watches these shows. I got disgusted with the nose in the air attitudes after on or two shows. So instead of flinging obscenities at the TV along with slippers, I moved on to listening to radio or CDs using headphones. In another part pf the house.

By the way the "flip this house" shows disappeared too Did not like them either. Most who got involved had no idea of the amount of work needed. Oh and all those "no money down" schemes seemed to thin out as well.
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Old 06-01-2009, 08:01 AM   #15
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DW could write the scripts. She has a thing about the attitude of "entitlement" commion in early 40-somethings and, for some reason, the first-timers in their late 20s. FWIW she thinks many are still leveraging wayyyyy too much, though it is harder to get a loan, etc. At the very least, they will be locked into double-income lifestyles for a long time whether they want that or not.
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Old 06-01-2009, 09:50 AM   #16
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Me Too , If I could afford a second house anywhere I'd be thrilled that it had running water and a bathroom .
I was thrilled that my first house had that!

I now work with several people who didn't have indoor plumbing growing up. Those guys have no sense of entitlement.

DW watches the TV show but also asks the question "What are these people thinking?" When we were dating one of the "hmmmm...." moments came when she said "The trouble with loans is that they always want you to pay it back".
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Old 06-01-2009, 10:24 AM   #17
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Originally Posted by Moemg View Post
I am an HGTV fan especially House Hunters but lately I've wondered where they get these couples . It is either very young couples still paying their student loans looking at $600,000 houses and complaining about the granite color or it is international buyers looking at $400,000 second homes and they look like they could not afford bowling money . Is it me or have other HGTV fans noticed this ? Martha ? Old Babe ? Orchid Flower ? Finance Dude ( I know you are a secret watcher )? Rich ( I'm sure your wife watches ) ? Ha ( I'd include you but I'm sure you are watching " Dancing with the stars "
Hmm....to watch that show, I would need cable TV, which I have been able to live without for 21 years and counting.......

A lot of shows like that are full of spoiled kids masquerading as adults because that helps ratings........
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Old 06-01-2009, 10:49 AM   #18
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Hmm....to watch that show, I would need cable TV, which I have been able to live without for 21 years and counting.......
No cable! I don't watch much... but I love good tube.
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Old 06-01-2009, 10:54 AM   #19
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No cable! I don't watch much... but I love good tube.
The definition of "good" is in the eyes of the beholder........
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Old 06-01-2009, 11:00 AM   #20
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The definition of "good" is in the eyes of the beholder........
Oh....don't even get me started on that one....
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