Author Topic: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments  (Read 47873 times)

daymare

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 465
  • Age: 34
HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« on: July 07, 2015, 06:33:57 PM »
Saw several people mention HGTV shows in the Big Houses thread -- I will confess, I really do love watching their shows (currently obsessed with the Scott brothers (Property Brothers, Buying & Selling, Brother vs Brother) -- miiight have a bit of a crush on Jonathan).  They have some really hilarious non-HGTV appropriate humor on their social media, plus wholesome hilarious stuff like Toddler vs Toddler.

A lot of the shows really make me scratch my head - Everyone seems to pick the house with the most square footage - this is basically my nightmare, tons to clean and maintain and expensive to heat.  Or when a couple has to come up with several thousand dollars for a renovation or closing costs or whatever (depends on the show and its premise).  I always wonder, especially since these are often families with kids ... Gosh, how can you not have an emergency fund?  How do you not have enough saved that you can weather a cost like that without stress?

House Hunters is basically a drinking game - drink whenever a couple want a game room, man cave, kid playroom, 2x as many bedrooms as people, when they say 'this master seems really small ... I don't think we can fit all our furniture", etc.

I recently binge-watched a bunch of Buying & Selling on hulu ... the premise is basically a couple wants to sell their house and move somewhere bigger/better.  The hosts show them a bunch of new houses and renovate their current house for 10K to get the house sold for 30K more than its current condition.  Hilarious how every time the owners decide that the house's value should be determined by what they need for a new down-payment.  And basically, the show ends with a reveal of their newly renovated house, which looks a million times better because of updates, and also because the owners' ugly oversize and bland furniture is removed, as is all the CLUTTER.  I always wonder - how come no couple realizes that their space can be a lot more functional/workable/beautiful if they put some effort in?  Why does nobody change their mind and realize 'actually, our house fits our needs and we don't need to spend more money'?

Any hilarious (or ridiculous) moments you remember from HGTV shows?

yourusernamehere

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 167
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #1 on: July 07, 2015, 07:00:35 PM »
This isn't really "hilarious" so much as "predictable." DH and I used to watch "Love It or List It" pretty often, in which a decorator gets a budget to renovate the home and make the people want to stay, competing against a realtor trying to find their dream home and convince them to move. I probably didn't explain that well, but the point is that the renovation always goes WAY over budget and essentially the decorator cleans and paints because there's never money left after some surprise structural issue no one saw coming in the 80 year old house. Hubby and I decided people on the show just want to pay $50,000 for someone to declutter their houses. Can't even watch it anymore. :-P

Insanity

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1021
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #2 on: July 07, 2015, 07:25:59 PM »
The worst Love It or List It is when they give one an increase in budget and not the other.  I also find it funny that they don't factor in any increased value in their initial budget for the list it option.

I got sick of that show.

Cpa Cat

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1692
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #3 on: July 07, 2015, 07:40:10 PM »
and also because the owners' ugly oversize and bland furniture is removed, as is all the CLUTTER. 

But then those same people will be house hunters who say, "But will our furniture fit?" while shopping for a new home.

Why is that in every single show, on their top 5 list of Most Important Things is whether or not their furniture fits?

I just want to shout, "Who cares?!?! If your furniture doesn't fit, then get rid of it!"

Suit

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 275
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #4 on: July 07, 2015, 07:51:25 PM »
I lost count of how many times people on House Hunters went over their "budgets." I'm always surprised when someone actually stays within the amount they said was their max at the beginning of the show.

LeRainDrop

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1834
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #5 on: July 07, 2015, 09:36:13 PM »
Oh, man, how many hours of my life have I wasted on HGTV?  :-)  One of my work friends and his wife were on House Hunters about five years ago.  They were newlyweds looking to move out of their "tiny" apartment into a new home.  In the episode, they had to keep bumping into each other in their old small kitchen, and my friend was definitely all about the "man cave," haha!  Anyhow, he told us that to be selected for the show, you need to have your new home already under contract or closed.  They filmed the entire episode in one weekend -- it might have even been just one day, but I can't remember -- and they were told to bring multiple outfits so that they could change and make it look like they were visiting the options and making their decision over multiple days.  He said the money the network paid them was negligible.  His wife just thought it would be a fun experience.
« Last Edit: July 07, 2015, 09:37:50 PM by LeRainDrop »

MoonShadow

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2542
  • Location: Louisville, Ky.
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #6 on: July 07, 2015, 09:49:06 PM »
Oh, man, how many hours of my life have I wasted on HGTV?  :-)  One of my work friends and his wife were on House Hunters about five years ago.  They were newlyweds looking to move out of their "tiny" apartment into a new home.  In the episode, they had to keep bumping into each other in their old small kitchen, and my friend was definitely all about the "man cave," haha!  Anyhow, he told us that to be selected for the show, you need to have your new home already under contract or closed.  They filmed the entire episode in one weekend -- it might have even been just one day, but I can't remember -- and they were told to bring multiple outfits so that they could change and make it look like they were visiting the options and making their decision over multiple days.  He said the money the network paid them was negligible.  His wife just thought it would be a fun experience.

So it's a fake reality tv show?

That's just lovely.

LeRainDrop

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1834
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #7 on: July 07, 2015, 10:01:56 PM »
Oh, man, how many hours of my life have I wasted on HGTV?  :-)  One of my work friends and his wife were on House Hunters about five years ago.  They were newlyweds looking to move out of their "tiny" apartment into a new home.  In the episode, they had to keep bumping into each other in their old small kitchen, and my friend was definitely all about the "man cave," haha!  Anyhow, he told us that to be selected for the show, you need to have your new home already under contract or closed.  They filmed the entire episode in one weekend -- it might have even been just one day, but I can't remember -- and they were told to bring multiple outfits so that they could change and make it look like they were visiting the options and making their decision over multiple days.  He said the money the network paid them was negligible.  His wife just thought it would be a fun experience.

So it's a fake reality tv show?

That's just lovely.

Wait, are there people who still think non-fake reality tv shows exist?  ;-)

foobar

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 731
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #8 on: July 07, 2015, 10:05:57 PM »
The worst Love It or List It is when they give one an increase in budget and not the other.  I also find it funny that they don't factor in any increased value in their initial budget for the list it option.

I got sick of that show.

The worst is that they keep hiring that designer. She hasn't had a single episode where she didn't blow the budget because of some unexpected cost.:)

horsepoor

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3497
  • Location: At the Barn
  • That old chestnut.
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #9 on: July 07, 2015, 10:13:10 PM »
I still remember the House Hunters where the single, first-time home buyer was obsessed with getting a house that already had a doggie door for her dog.  Like, that seemed to dictate which house she ended up buying.  A $50 dog door that any one with a saw and a screw driver could install in half an hour.

Recently I've caught a couple episodes of the fixer upper show, and if the home owner has a $280K budget, and buys the house for $200K, they just have to use every cent remaining in their budget.  In fact, part of the show is the designer saying "OK, I have 3K left, so do you want to spend it on X, Y or Z?"  As if it would be a crime to leave ANY money available credit on the table.

Our realtors have been flabbergasted both times we bought houses at like half of what we were pre-approved for, but naturally a bigger sale = bigger commission, so it makes sense to upsell and not worry about how house poor the client will be with a mortgage payment that's half their take-home pay.

Mrs.LC

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 226
    • Loose Change Living
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #10 on: July 07, 2015, 10:39:55 PM »
Used to watch HGTV when we still had satellite TV. Now I watch it once in awhile at the gym. Mr. LC and I have been married for 30 years and we still don't have bedroom set. We have a dresser, bookcase and nightstand that are refurbished cast offs. We spent $26 on lumber to build the bed frame and topped it with a thick foam mattress. Works for us just fine.

The episodes that have my head shaking the most are the House Hunters that feature single people. Not sure I would want to risk a huge mortgage on a single income. I know people do it all the time but it feels too risky to me.

Cpa Cat

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1692
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #11 on: July 07, 2015, 11:15:03 PM »
The worst Love It or List It is when they give one an increase in budget and not the other.  I also find it funny that they don't factor in any increased value in their initial budget for the list it option.

I got sick of that show.

The worst is that they keep hiring that designer. She hasn't had a single episode where she didn't blow the budget because of some unexpected cost.:)

"Oh no, something unexpected and expensive happened right after they saw the second house that they hated! If only I could have planned for this happening... every single episode."

Jack

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4725
  • Location: Atlanta, GA
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #12 on: July 07, 2015, 11:25:09 PM »
The worst Love It or List It is when they give one an increase in budget and not the other.  I also find it funny that they don't factor in any increased value in their initial budget for the list it option.

I got sick of that show.

The worst is that they keep hiring that designer. She hasn't had a single episode where she didn't blow the budget because of some unexpected cost.:)

That's the thing I hate about that show: they portray both the designer and the real estate agent as completely incompetent. I want to watch shows like Holmes on Homes or This Old House where I can learn to do things correctly, not watch somebody fuck up! I'm surprised the designer and agent put up with it.

(Okay, I'll make an exception for Renovation Realities, but that's different...)

Roots&Wings

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1555
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #13 on: July 08, 2015, 05:51:27 AM »
I found it baffling when a woman went over budget on Tiny House Hunters. The initial goal was simply, downsize, affordable, and she still got sucked into the emotional higher cost purchase, instead of staying within/under budget! Though it was still a tiny movable house.

cripzychiken

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 194
  • Location: Central Florida
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #14 on: July 08, 2015, 06:48:22 AM »
What annoys me is they never focus on important things - is the neighborhood safe, what school district is the house in.  Or you can tell that they were told to add things to their wishlist - stuff like a 'modern kitchen' even though they never even point it out during the 'tours'.

My favorite episode of house hunters, a Univ professor and SAHM with 2 kids, wanted to move closer to the university and get more space.  Budget was like 350k.  Sounds 'normal'.  Fast forward to the end - 425K and 15minutes FURTHER away, but hey, this house had a pool and was closer to the SAHW's twice monthly mommy & me group.  Now she only needs to drive 15minutes rather than 30min - and screw the dad who has to drive an extra 15min every day.


I'm a red panda

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8186
  • Location: United States
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #15 on: July 08, 2015, 07:03:39 AM »
Netflix has added a bunch of HGTV shows, so I am really enjoying watching them all.  But they are generally NOT mustachian friendly!  The one I was WTF! about what "Flea Market Flip". A guy took a dresser and made an "indoor stoop"- which was a set of stairs with the ugliest fur rug on them.  Someone actually bought it- I wish I remember the price, but these things are always at least a few hundred dollars.


I read a blog once that said Love it or List it always films both endings and the producers decide what to use.  Almost everything on HGTV is fake. (House Hunters they already have bought a house, and the house they tour may have not been available for sale when they searched; or could be their friends homes.)

Louisville

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 545
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #16 on: July 08, 2015, 07:04:47 AM »
House Hunters International is awesome. Real estate porn and travel porn rolled into one. I drool.
Also, it seems a little more "real" than regular flavor House Hunters. Outside of the US, you just get what you get.

I'm a red panda

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8186
  • Location: United States
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #17 on: July 08, 2015, 07:24:07 AM »
House Hunters International is awesome. Real estate porn and travel porn rolled into one. I drool.
Also, it seems a little more "real" than regular flavor House Hunters. Outside of the US, you just get what you get.

I like international better too, if only because all the houses are different. Not sure it is more real, if you read blogs- a lot of those people are recruited for the show and have been in the house for years!

I always like when the realtor says "now this one is way outside your price range, but I thought you might like it." Which to me is code for "This show is fake anyway, so let's show the viewers an awesome house."

Louisville

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 545
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #18 on: July 08, 2015, 07:43:15 AM »
House Hunters International is awesome. Real estate porn and travel porn rolled into one. I drool.
Also, it seems a little more "real" than regular flavor House Hunters. Outside of the US, you just get what you get.

I like international better too, if only because all the houses are different. Not sure it is more real, if you read blogs- a lot of those people are recruited for the show and have been in the house for years!

I always like when the realtor says "now this one is way outside your price range, but I thought you might like it." Which to me is code for "This show is fake anyway, so let's show the viewers an awesome house."
I agree that it's probably just as stacked. I meant that the dwellings seem more real. Generally not huge and wasteful.

cripzychiken

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 194
  • Location: Central Florida
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #19 on: July 08, 2015, 07:43:37 AM »
Netflix has added a bunch of HGTV shows, so I am really enjoying watching them all.  But they are generally NOT mustachian friendly!  The one I was WTF! about what "Flea Market Flip". A guy took a dresser and made an "indoor stoop"- which was a set of stairs with the ugliest fur rug on them.  Someone actually bought it- I wish I remember the price, but these things are always at least a few hundred dollars.

FMF - so you go and buy a dresser for $200.  The spend 2 days 'fixing' it, using 2 master craftsmen, add in a ton of wood and paint, new handcrafted metal feet, new glass top.  Sell your new "distressed mid-modern historic table" for $400!  Total profit: $200.... I mean nothing else costs any money, right?

That's what pisses me off.  You spent an additional $150 in new materials/paint + 2 days working on the project, you actually lost money (after 'paying the craftsmen') but never on that show.  Look how easy it is to make money!

Also - hit something with a chain for 15minutes to double the price since it is now 'distressed'.  Just an FYI for anyone who cares.

Fuzzy Buttons

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 119
  • Age: 53
  • Location: Midwest, USA
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #20 on: July 08, 2015, 07:51:26 AM »
HGTV is dangerous if your Mustachian muscles are underdeveloped.  Back in 2007 I was looking to upgrade the kitchen in my house.  I was moderately spendthrift back then - saving 15% in the 401(k) but spending the rest; took out a new car loan but had paid it off and was still driving the same car a decade later; that sort of stuff.  I'd been in the house for six years, and watching a lot of HGTV specifically on kitchen designs for a full year before I finally found a layout I liked. 

But a year of watching these ridiculous upgrades in houses that cost 5x or more what mine does had screwed my whole perception of what a reasonable upgrade would be.  As a result, I ended up taking out a HELOC and putting a $35k kitchen into my $100k home.  In perspective with what I'd been watching for a year, it seemed cheap - but objectively it was absolutely insane.  I have quartz counters, stainless steel appliances, and a $1400 glass backsplash.  Any one of these details by themselves cost enough that even back then I would normally debate it quite a bit and more often than not decide I didn't need it.  But once it was a "remodel" and I had the loan, it was all just a quick "Sure!  Throw that in there.".

On the upside, it's been eight years and I still enjoy the kitchen every day.  It looks awesome, and the layout is much more functional than the old one.  But I could have gotten just as much enjoyment and spent much less.  And if I hadn't been watching so much HGTV, I probably would have. 

Wealth is always a relative thing.  If you are blasted with constant images of people spending way more money than you do, it raises your expectation of where you "ought" to be.  That's the whole point of advertising - and every show on HGTV is basically one big ad.  I won't deny it's fun, though.  I don't have television any more, but when I'm staying at my gf's house where she does, we still watch it.  Sometimes to mock the consumer sucker mindset ("With this house I'll finally be able to be the father I want to be!" - actual quote), and sometimes just to see the fancy stuff. 

benjenn

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 283
  • Age: 59
  • Location: Gulf Shores, AL
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #21 on: July 08, 2015, 07:59:17 AM »
HGTV is really the only thing I miss from our days with cable TV.  The shows are just so ridiculous.  Pure entertainment value to see the stupid decisions people make over and over again. That and the great foreign locations on HHI.  Happy that we'll have satellite TV next month once we FIRE (it's part of our condo fees where we're moving to) so I can watch it again.

Jack

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4725
  • Location: Atlanta, GA
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #22 on: July 08, 2015, 08:09:42 AM »
HGTV is really the only thing I miss from our days with cable TV.  The shows are just so ridiculous.  Pure entertainment value to see the stupid decisions people make over and over again. That and the great foreign locations on HHI.  Happy that we'll have satellite TV next month once we FIRE (it's part of our condo fees where we're moving to) so I can watch it again.

I would mention that HGTV.com has streaming (and that some HGTV shows are on Netflix), but won't since I don't want to encourage anybody's habit.

Mississippi Mudstache

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2170
  • Age: 40
  • Location: Danielsville, GA
    • A Riving Home - Ramblings of a Recusant Woodworker
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #23 on: July 08, 2015, 08:22:21 AM »
We had friends on House Hunters International who were renting an apartment in Kazakhstan. As the others had mentioned, they had already moved in when the show was filmed and never actually considered the other two apartments that were "shown". I enjoy many programs on HGTV, but it's important to realize how fake most of them are.

RunHappy

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 560
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #24 on: July 08, 2015, 08:41:04 AM »
I like watching the Scott Brothers. They are funny and I love the transformations. One thing I really like is they work with "normal" people, meaning the people that do not have million dollar budgets.  I also like how they give estimates on how much each room cost the people. The only thing I don't like is everyone wants open concept, which is not my thing.

Rehab Addict is another favorite because I like refinishing old furniture and it has always been a secret fantasy of mine to rehab an old farmhouse.

Most of the other shows I don't like too much.   People always want bigger and farther commutes and several times they go over budget based on emotion.

MrsPete

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3505
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #25 on: July 08, 2015, 09:33:50 AM »
and also because the owners' ugly oversize and bland furniture is removed, as is all the CLUTTER. 

But then those same people will be house hunters who say, "But will our furniture fit?" while shopping for a new home.

Why is that in every single show, on their top 5 list of Most Important Things is whether or not their furniture fits?

I just want to shout, "Who cares?!?! If your furniture doesn't fit, then get rid of it!"
I'd be perfectly willing -- even eager -- to ditch some of my furniture.  For example, the computer desk at which I'm sitting right now is awful.  I would like to replace it, but we're going to move in 2-3 years, and I won't do it until I know exactly what size space I'll have.  I'm sitting in a $25 Goodwill office chair -- functional, but not something I love.  I like my dining room table but could replace it with something else for a couple hundred dollars and be just as happy.  Ditto for my sofa; I like it but could easily replace it.

But some of my other furniture, while not particularly valuable, holds sentimental value.  I have my grandmother's old bed, a couple nightstands out of my grandfather's old hotel, an antique cedar chest.  My husband loves our kitchen table because it was one of the first things he bought on his own, and he loves that it has lasted so long /has been a good investment. 

Chris22

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3770
  • Location: Chicago NW Suburbs
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #26 on: July 08, 2015, 10:02:48 AM »
House Hunters International is awesome. Real estate porn and travel porn rolled into one. I drool.
Also, it seems a little more "real" than regular flavor House Hunters. Outside of the US, you just get what you get.

I like international better too, if only because all the houses are different. Not sure it is more real, if you read blogs- a lot of those people are recruited for the show and have been in the house for years!

I always like when the realtor says "now this one is way outside your price range, but I thought you might like it." Which to me is code for "This show is fake anyway, so let's show the viewers an awesome house."

I like the ones in the other direction, where the people claim to have a $500k budget and look at houses for $475k, $525k, and $350k, and buy the $350k house.  Did you really have a $500k budget, or were you just trying to show off?  And the reason for the $350k house is never "so we can stash away money" it's some half-assed attempt to justify why it's "better".

slugline

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1175
  • Location: Houston, TX USA
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #27 on: July 08, 2015, 10:08:12 AM »
This thread reminds me of the book The Millionaire Next Door, where the authors write that any actual show based on the showing off the lifestyle of a "typical millionaire" would be one of the most boring TV programs ever!

celticmyst08

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 382
  • Age: 33
  • Location: Seattle, WA
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #28 on: July 08, 2015, 10:19:59 AM »
What always gets me is when the family, for example, has a $300k budget, and looks at a house for $250k. Then they say stuff like "This house is way under budget so that leaves us $50k for renovations!"

Wait, what? It's not like you had $300k sitting around to begin with. Therefore, you don't just magically have $50k for renovations just because you didn't max out your mortgage. Are they taking out HELOCS or something?

This is pretty much the entire premise of Property Brothers -- we have a $300k budget, dream homes are $600k, so we buy a $200k house and spend the $100k difference on renovations. Aughhh where is the $100k coming from??

Jack

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4725
  • Location: Atlanta, GA
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #29 on: July 08, 2015, 10:21:41 AM »
This thread reminds me of the book The Millionaire Next Door, where the authors write that any actual show based on the showing off the lifestyle of a "typical millionaire" would be one of the most boring TV programs ever!

The main trouble is that we all got our concept of "millionaire" being a big deal from hearing about guilded-age industrialists, and then failed to adjust our terminology for inflation.

In other words, the show should be showing off the lifestyle of a "typical billionaire," not mere millionaire.

Chris22

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3770
  • Location: Chicago NW Suburbs
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #30 on: July 08, 2015, 10:28:30 AM »
What always gets me is when the family, for example, has a $300k budget, and looks at a house for $250k. Then they say stuff like "This house is way under budget so that leaves us $50k for renovations!"

Wait, what? It's not like you had $300k sitting around to begin with. Therefore, you don't just magically have $50k for renovations just because you didn't max out your mortgage. Are they taking out HELOCS or something?

This is pretty much the entire premise of Property Brothers -- we have a $300k budget, dream homes are $600k, so we buy a $200k house and spend the $100k difference on renovations. Aughhh where is the $100k coming from??

Had that exact discussion with my wife when we bought our new house.  A $10k difference in purchase price is ~$100/mo or less on your mortgage, it doesn't magically deposit $10k into your bank account to make changes if you buy the cheaper one. 

AH013

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 272
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #31 on: July 08, 2015, 11:07:47 AM »
The worst Love It or List It is when they give one an increase in budget and not the other.  I also find it funny that they don't factor in any increased value in their initial budget for the list it option.

I got sick of that show.

They always think they improve the home value drastically.

The episode of this show that sticks out most in my mind was where the couple had $50k or something to do a series of renovations like finish the basement and open up the main floor.  They try to get started on the renovations and low and behold they found asbestos, and I think mold and structural issues.  Bottom line is that they blew the entire renovation budget and nothing got updated -- they just fixed a ton of structural issues neither they nor their inspector even know they had.  Then came the "final listing" (their own house) and somehow their home value increased something like $75k...I laughed my ass off that they didn't even have the integrity to admit sometimes mistakes and shit happens and they spent $50k without getting a positive return on that investment.  Last episode I ever watched.

Wilson Hall

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 163
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #32 on: July 08, 2015, 11:37:17 AM »
HGTV is dangerous if your Mustachian muscles are underdeveloped.  Back in 2007 I was looking to upgrade the kitchen in my house.  I was moderately spendthrift back then - saving 15% in the 401(k) but spending the rest; took out a new car loan but had paid it off and was still driving the same car a decade later; that sort of stuff.  I'd been in the house for six years, and watching a lot of HGTV specifically on kitchen designs for a full year before I finally found a layout I liked. 

But a year of watching these ridiculous upgrades in houses that cost 5x or more what mine does had screwed my whole perception of what a reasonable upgrade would be.  As a result, I ended up taking out a HELOC and putting a $35k kitchen into my $100k home.  In perspective with what I'd been watching for a year, it seemed cheap - but objectively it was absolutely insane.  I have quartz counters, stainless steel appliances, and a $1400 glass backsplash.  Any one of these details by themselves cost enough that even back then I would normally debate it quite a bit and more often than not decide I didn't need it.  But once it was a "remodel" and I had the loan, it was all just a quick "Sure!  Throw that in there.".

On the upside, it's been eight years and I still enjoy the kitchen every day.  It looks awesome, and the layout is much more functional than the old one.  But I could have gotten just as much enjoyment and spent much less.  And if I hadn't been watching so much HGTV, I probably would have. 

Wealth is always a relative thing.  If you are blasted with constant images of people spending way more money than you do, it raises your expectation of where you "ought" to be.  That's the whole point of advertising - and every show on HGTV is basically one big ad.  I won't deny it's fun, though.  I don't have television any more, but when I'm staying at my gf's house where she does, we still watch it.  Sometimes to mock the consumer sucker mindset ("With this house I'll finally be able to be the father I want to be!" - actual quote), and sometimes just to see the fancy stuff.

Great points. We've done most of our home renovations ourselves (with hired contractor help as needed), which has saved us thousands of dollars over the years.  Living in a working/lower-middle class neighborhood, we don't want to go overboard on high-end remodeling and risk losing lots of our financial investment when we sell the house.

I like to refer to HGTV as "The Envy Channel."

I'm a red panda

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8186
  • Location: United States
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #33 on: July 08, 2015, 11:56:28 AM »
Oh man, this reminded me of "Bang for your Buck".  It compared 3 renovations of the same room at the same budget, then determined which one had the best ROI.

I think the show should have been renamed "Whose location is best?" 
Because the house in the best neighborhood (if you knew the areas) ALWAYS won.

foobar

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 731
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #34 on: July 08, 2015, 12:07:17 PM »
This thread reminds me of the book The Millionaire Next Door, where the authors write that any actual show based on the showing off the lifestyle of a "typical millionaire" would be one of the most boring TV programs ever!

The main trouble is that we all got our concept of "millionaire" being a big deal from hearing about guilded-age industrialists, and then failed to adjust our terminology for inflation.

In other words, the show should be showing off the lifestyle of a "typical billionaire," not mere millionaire.

Pretty much. They typical millionaire these days is a guy like my dad. He has like 1.5 million dollars (great) but that funds the same 80k lifestyle that he has been living for the past 50 years. It is a nice life but you are not going to buy everything you want. He could buy the 100k car  but just 1. They could fly first class instead of coach (but then they are taking 1 trip per year instead of 2). And so on.  As a practical matter at age 70, if you haven't bought that stuff in the past, you probably aren't going to start doing it in the future.

You don't have to go up to billionaire level, but if you looked at the lifestyles of even the 50 million guys, you would start seeing the stuff like weekend sports cars, yachts, and so on. Maybe even 25 million. 600k/year is a lot of money to spend. You really have to try:)

CommonCents

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2363
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #35 on: July 08, 2015, 12:12:31 PM »
I love HGTV, but it's terrible to watch if you have envyitis or poor mustachian muscles.  It's the only channel I cared about losing when we went cable-free, but I recently found I can watch some shows on HGTV and others on Hulu.  I like it for pointing out cheap decorating ideas (e.g. can of paint transforming a room, a few pillows or pillow recovers rather than a new couch, etc) and reminding me that often the best decorating is simply decluttering and getting rid of crap or adding some color.

Love it or List it: Wildly unrealistic estimates of the value added, never the budget to fix the problems that are discovered in older homes (and best is when in "revenge" they pull the budget from the decorator and "give it" to the realtor).  We liked to guess "which wish list items won't get done" and "what problems will be found".  We stopped watching long ago because of the fake annoying squabbling and super scripted show.

House Hunters: As pointed out above, it's fake.  A friend of mine was the "friend" for a single person on the show (as apparently they must have two people).  You can play the guess which house they've already bought game, but it's just not really interesting.

Property Brothers: More realistic budget, good dynamic with the brothers.  Thumbs up.
Buying and Selling: Not quite as good as Property Brothers.
Neither available on Hulu or HGTV :(

Brother v. Brother: Season 1 & 2 ok but 3 with just the brothers was much better. 

Flip or Flop: Ok, just started watching on HGTV.

Design on a Dime: Interesting ideas at times with legit budgets.  I like they seem to explain enough to do yourself, but I've never tried a project to know for sure.

Rehab Addict: Just seen a few, but I like that she respects the property and doesn't put modern into old buildings.

Chris22

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3770
  • Location: Chicago NW Suburbs
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #36 on: July 08, 2015, 12:20:27 PM »
House Hunters: As pointed out above, it's fake.  A friend of mine was the "friend" for a single person on the show (as apparently they must have two people).  You can play the guess which house they've already bought game, but it's just not really interesting.

I'm a huge HH fan, and don't really care if it's fake or not.  Mostly I like to watch the people who have interesting budgets (either really high or really low) in interesting places.  "which tract home to buy for $200k in Ohio" is dull, "I want a house for $3M/$150k in SoCal/coastal FL/CO mountains/historic New England town" is interesting.  I basically tune out the people, and just like to see the various houses.

The one I could never get was Property Virgins, which was mostly in Canada.  Seemed like every single episode was "I'm a barrista/my wife is a kindergarten teacher, our budget is $800k."  Never figured that out.  Nevermind SHOULD you spend that much, how in the world CAN you.

CommonCents

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2363
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #37 on: July 08, 2015, 12:47:06 PM »
House Hunters: As pointed out above, it's fake.  A friend of mine was the "friend" for a single person on the show (as apparently they must have two people).  You can play the guess which house they've already bought game, but it's just not really interesting.

I'm a huge HH fan, and don't really care if it's fake or not.  Mostly I like to watch the people who have interesting budgets (either really high or really low) in interesting places.  "which tract home to buy for $200k in Ohio" is dull, "I want a house for $3M/$150k in SoCal/coastal FL/CO mountains/historic New England town" is interesting.  I basically tune out the people, and just like to see the various houses.

The one I could never get was Property Virgins, which was mostly in Canada.  Seemed like every single episode was "I'm a barrista/my wife is a kindergarten teacher, our budget is $800k."  Never figured that out.  Nevermind SHOULD you spend that much, how in the world CAN you.

Yes, it's better when there are interesting locations (which is why the International one is better on the whole).

Chris22

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3770
  • Location: Chicago NW Suburbs
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #38 on: July 08, 2015, 12:54:59 PM »
House Hunters: As pointed out above, it's fake.  A friend of mine was the "friend" for a single person on the show (as apparently they must have two people).  You can play the guess which house they've already bought game, but it's just not really interesting.

I'm a huge HH fan, and don't really care if it's fake or not.  Mostly I like to watch the people who have interesting budgets (either really high or really low) in interesting places.  "which tract home to buy for $200k in Ohio" is dull, "I want a house for $3M/$150k in SoCal/coastal FL/CO mountains/historic New England town" is interesting.  I basically tune out the people, and just like to see the various houses.

The one I could never get was Property Virgins, which was mostly in Canada.  Seemed like every single episode was "I'm a barrista/my wife is a kindergarten teacher, our budget is $800k."  Never figured that out.  Nevermind SHOULD you spend that much, how in the world CAN you.

Yes, it's better when there are interesting locations (which is why the International one is better on the whole).

Some of the international ones are interesting, but lots of them are students and others looking for cheap apartments and such, which isn't that interesting to me.  But the ones in Carribbean nations tend to be good.

iris lily

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5671
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #39 on: July 08, 2015, 01:08:11 PM »
On long weekends when I dog sit for my neighbor, I am plastered to her cable tv, hgtv channel. Ermagod, I am an hgtv addict. It is fascinating and repulsive, all at the same time.

I love that chick in the Twin cities who renovates old houses and pays careful attention to original features. She is about the only one who actually teaches me something each time I watch.

I hate the house buying shows that center on new suburban construction. Those dwellings are so boring look all alike.

slugline

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 1175
  • Location: Houston, TX USA
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #40 on: July 08, 2015, 01:14:52 PM »
What always gets me is when the family, for example, has a $300k budget, and looks at a house for $250k. Then they say stuff like "This house is way under budget so that leaves us $50k for renovations!"

Wait, what? It's not like you had $300k sitting around to begin with. Therefore, you don't just magically have $50k for renovations just because you didn't max out your mortgage. Are they taking out HELOCS or something?

This is pretty much the entire premise of Property Brothers -- we have a $300k budget, dream homes are $600k, so we buy a $200k house and spend the $100k difference on renovations. Aughhh where is the $100k coming from??

There are FHA-backed mortgages called 203K loans that will finance both the purchase of a fixer-upper and the renovations. I'm sure they don't work as fancifully as a House Hunters episode might suggest, but that's what you could do in real life!

Chris22

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3770
  • Location: Chicago NW Suburbs
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #41 on: July 08, 2015, 01:16:24 PM »
What always gets me is when the family, for example, has a $300k budget, and looks at a house for $250k. Then they say stuff like "This house is way under budget so that leaves us $50k for renovations!"

Wait, what? It's not like you had $300k sitting around to begin with. Therefore, you don't just magically have $50k for renovations just because you didn't max out your mortgage. Are they taking out HELOCS or something?

This is pretty much the entire premise of Property Brothers -- we have a $300k budget, dream homes are $600k, so we buy a $200k house and spend the $100k difference on renovations. Aughhh where is the $100k coming from??

There are FHA-backed mortgages called 203K loans that will finance both the purchase of a fixer-upper and the renovations. I'm sure they don't work as fancifully as a House Hunters episode might suggest, but that's what you could do in real life!

We looked into one briefly, IIRC it was A LOT of hoops to jump through and we decided not to bother.  I think it was something to do with requiring a contractor to do a lot of the work, not a DIYer.

Jack

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4725
  • Location: Atlanta, GA
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #42 on: July 08, 2015, 01:17:04 PM »
The one I could never get was Property Virgins, which was mostly in Canada.  Seemed like every single episode was "I'm a barrista/my wife is a kindergarten teacher, our budget is $800k."  Never figured that out.  Nevermind SHOULD you spend that much, how in the world CAN you.

It wasn't just Canada, it was metro Toronto. Apparently, that's the Canadian equivalent of Silicon Valley or something.

I'm a red panda

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8186
  • Location: United States
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #43 on: July 08, 2015, 01:29:30 PM »

I love that chick in the Twin cities who renovates old houses and pays careful attention to original features. She is about the only one who actually teaches me something each time I watch.


That's Rehab Addict.

Her show is my favorite too.  Though some parts of it annoy me. I care less about her personal life and would rather just see the renovation.  Of course, I hadn't noticed so much of the personal stuff until I binge watched all the episodes Netflix had.

Ashyukun

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 270
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #44 on: July 08, 2015, 01:51:34 PM »
Flip or Flop: Ok, just started watching on HGTV.

One of the few HGTV shows we watch pretty regularly. Our only issue with it is that the intro still paints it as if they're struggling to get by- when they've at times mentioned how many houses they are renovating at that particular time- like -EIGHTEEN- of them- and they seem to make an average of $40k or so per house. Even accounting for living in SoCal like they do, with each house taking conservatively 2 months, and assuming they only flip 10 in that time, that's still like $3.6 MILLION per year.

We've rather liked some of the competitive shows like last year's "Flipping the Block" and this year's similar "Beach Flip". Their budgets are kind of unrealistic given it looks like they get all their furniture and such from the sponsoring show for free (SWMBO noted in the commercial for the one this year- Wayfair I think?) that the throw pillow they highlighted was like $90 alone (they showed the website in the commercial).

Chris22

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 3770
  • Location: Chicago NW Suburbs
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #45 on: July 08, 2015, 01:53:55 PM »
Design Star is also the only reality-type show I'll watch.  Really enjoy that every year.

Jack

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4725
  • Location: Atlanta, GA
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #46 on: July 08, 2015, 02:06:15 PM »
I can't get over how few people are talking about liking Holmes on Holmes / Holmes Inspection, or Income Property.

oneday

  • CMTO 2023 Attendees
  • Walrus Stache
  • *
  • Posts: 8806
  • Age: 48
  • Location: SF Bay Area, USA
  • only good pies and no bad pies -mspym
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #47 on: July 08, 2015, 02:20:06 PM »
Jack, I was just going to post that no one had mentioned Income Property? That one has Mustachian elements, at least.

And I agree with others who say the whole channel is basically advertising for the remodeling industry.

lemonlime

  • 5 O'Clock Shadow
  • *
  • Posts: 44
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #48 on: July 08, 2015, 02:49:32 PM »
Holmes is my favorite!!! Love Income Property too, as well as Rehab Addict. Love the Brothers, but bored of their shows at this point.

Ashyukun

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 270
Re: HGTV Shows - hilarious/head-scratching moments
« Reply #49 on: July 08, 2015, 02:50:01 PM »
Jack, I was just going to post that no one had mentioned Income Property? That one has Mustachian elements, at least.

And I agree with others who say the whole channel is basically advertising for the remodeling industry.

I forget if it was HGTV or another channel, but there was 'Vacation home for free' show where people looked for and bought (usually fixer-uppers) vacation properties such that the income from renting them out the rest of the year that they weren't actually using the place would cover the cost of the mortgage and upkeep on the place. Always seemed like a pretty neat idea.