View Full Version : Love/Hate Relationship with HGTV
I think I've posted about this topic before, but I love HGTV and I hate it.
I love to see all the ideas, see what people have done with their homes, see what the market value is in different areas of the country.
I don't love so much the buyers.. it just seems that they push the expectations so high. Right now, I'm watching a couple who moved to North Carolina for a relocation. Their budget is a million and a quarter. And they drive up to this unbelievable home and they start whining about stupid things!! It was a 4000 sq. ft. home and the guys whines, "I don't know.. it feels cramped."
The previous episode was a girl in her late 20s who was looking to move from her parents' home and get a place in Boston. Her budget was $619k. She couldn't find anything so she pushed it to 700k She still wasn't happy so her mother persuaded her to accept a $300k loan, so she got what she wanted--a million dollar home. Wow. Just drove me crazy.
They do run episodes on "1st time homebuyers" that is more realistic, and those are hopeful, seeing you can get really nice homes for $150k in places like Austin and Nashville, but the buyers' wish lists are just so homogenous.
Oh well.. just venting. Plus it makes me think if I were to sell my home, no one would like it and I'd have to spend a fortune to make it appeal to a mass market.
Have you guys sold homes recently? What were potential buyers like? What are they looking for? Tell me they're not ALL like the buyers on HGTV.
I'm so with you on the love/hate thing. I love seeing the houses but am so tired of hearing "that room is soooooooo smalllllll" and "but I want stainless steel appliances" and "this room looks sooooooo dated" - when its better/more modern than what I have in my house. And those first time buyers wanting to start where their parents ended up, everything has to be upgraded and brand new.
Yes, I could turn it off, but I don't. My favorite show is the one with the hunk that renovates apartments, Income Property.
"this room looks sooooooo dated" - when its better/more modern than what I have in my house. And those first time buyers wanting to start where their parents ended up, everything has to be upgraded and brand new.
Yes, I could turn it off, but I don't. My favorite show is the one with the hunk that renovates apartments, Income Property.
Well, I watching a commercial for HGTV--have you seen the retro one? Where there's a girl with an Afro in a 70s room mocking the retro look, saying "You never know WHAT you're going to find in some houses!!!" at which point they show a clip of a wall oven that IS MY EXACT WALL OVEN!! Kenmore, 1974 (harvest gold). I was on a plane when I saw it and I almost burst out laughing right there!
And yes, I do like that renovator guy--fun to watch.
Yes, I'm with you. I've grown to hate the wastefulness that takes place. Perfectly workable, well-functioning kitchens, albeit, minus the latest and greatest, but let's all gut-them, and fill-up the landfill with more perfectly good/usable stuff. It's disgusting.
We haven't bought/sold for almost 20 years, but I'm guessing one could expect the same, "oh, gee... doesn't have granite countertops"... (Like granite countertops are going to keep you warm and dry in the winter, and food in the refrigerator).
Yes, I'm with you. I've grown to hate the wastefulness that takes place. Perfectly workable, well-functioning kitchens, albeit, minus the latest and greatest, but let's all gut-them, and fill-up the landfill with more perfectly good/usable stuff. It's disgusting.
We haven't bought/sold for almost 20 years, but I'm guessing one could expect the same, "oh, gee... doesn't have granite countertops"... (Like granite countertops are going to keep you warm and dry in the winter, and food in the refrigerator).
I agree completely! Just disregarding what's functional and fine-looking--it's almost as if they have to mark their territory like a dog by throwing out perfectly good stuff. And when they don't have any appreciation for true architectural form and just run like sheep to follow fads... arghh.. it's so maddening.
We put my wife's house on the market shortly before we got married a couple of years ago. Good neighborhood, some decent updates, typical house for the area (part of the problem of selling it; there were many similar houses on the market, each with their own specialty and disadvantage). Some of the comments from prospective buyers, though, as relayed by the Realtor, were just plain from some other planet. It's a 1920s bungalow on a city lot. It will have a "car hole", not a spacious garage for two cars and a workbench. It will have a serviceable kitchen, not a mass of granite and stainless steel and a huge stove -- especially at our asking price. Some of the comments seemed to be driven by sources like HGTV, in which fancy millwork and P. Allen Smith-style landscaping were almost accepted as "due". It was a buyer's market and people felt they could ask for the moon and get it.
An interesting read for those who dislike the McMansion style of house -- or simply are looking for ideas on how to stretch limited space visually -- might want to check out the work of architect Sarah Susanka in her "Not So Big House" series. She has extended her architectural philosophy to "The Not So Big Life", her take on voluntary simplicity. I find NSBL less persuasive than NSBH, but I tend to appreciate any well-reasoned discussion that challenges my assumptions.
catherine
5-15-12, 10:03pm
An interesting read for those who dislike the McMansion style of house -- or simply are looking for ideas on how to stretch limited space visually -- might want to check out the work of architect Sarah Susanka in her "Not So Big House" series. She has extended her architectural philosophy to "The Not So Big Life", her take on voluntary simplicity. I find NSBL less persuasive than NSBH, but I tend to appreciate any well-reasoned discussion that challenges my assumptions.
I adore Sarah Susanka: I have a few of her architecture/design books: I'll definitely check out The Not So Big Life.
PS.. is that a plug for Minnesota, Steve? She's from MN I believe--my DB and DSIL live there and built their house on her principles and it's a great (smallish) house.
iris lily
5-16-12, 12:06am
HGTV is the reason I don't have cable. I can sit and watch, spellbound, International House Hunters and Selling New York for hours on end. Hours! It's drivel and I am an addict. I watch them when my friend goes out of town and I babysit her dogs at her house.
And, I am fortunate that Hulu doesn't work worth a damn on my computer so I can't really watch those shows at home, either.
That said, the last time I had an HGTV marathon it was actually pretty boring because they had a batch of shows about first time home buyers looking at new low end track houses in the suburbs. Talk about boring real estate--ugh.
And, on the related topic, we've had many discussions about Sarah Susanka here over the years.
Wildflower
5-16-12, 2:49am
Oh, I love and hate HGTV too. I try not to watch it too often. I really think it is just one big commercial to make you feel bad about your own home so you will spend, spend, spend to upgrade.... :devil:
I go on HGTV binges when I'm back in the US -- my name is lhamo and I'm a real estate junkie! I tried to get DH to apply for House Hunters International -- they were looking for families in China just a few months after we bought our place, and we would have been great candidates. But he didn't go for it. Probably for the best -- not sure I would want to live on in reruns for all eternity, or admit that publicly how much we spent on our place.
I also find the ones where they look at cookie cutter suburban mcmansions to be annoying. LOVE the rehab/decorating on the cheap shows. Holmes on Homes is also an AMAZING resource for anyone considering buying/renovating a home -- amazing how much bad workmanship is out there (one would hope the market for crappy contractors in Toronto is diminishing, but he seems to keep finding some great examples of horrible work...). I also like that one where they give two options for fixing up an in-house MIL rental unit and see how it turns out -- those brothers are CUTE and good at what they do besides.
Yeah, IL -- I totally get the thing for men in tool belts.
lhamo
lhamo
PS: I also love Selling NY. Catherine, I don't think you need to worry too much -- there is always a market for reasonably priced real estate in the NYC area, even if it has flaws. When we sold our Queens apartment we had to fight a bit to list it at the price we did, which was more than double what we had paid, but I had better info about comps in the neighborhood than the agent had (we chose a Manhattan based agent at Douglas Elliman as we knew we would get better offers from a Manhattan crowd considering moving out to Queens than we would from people already looking in Queens). We listed with him on a Tuesday or Wednesday, had an open house on Sunday, and had three offers by MOnday morning. We took the one that looked the most solid in terms of finances/arranging financing/getting board approval. We had fixed up a few things in the apartment (redid floors and walls in living room, dining room, and small bedroom/office off the kitchen, and fixed a few things in the bathroom), but there was still a lot to be done (we had the ORIGINAL kitchen, including 1918 gas stove, and the original wire and tube wiring throughout the house). wasn't an issue at the right price for the market. The people who bought from us sold it for double again what they paid about 2-3 years later, right before the crash. They had redone the kitchen and wiring at that point, and redone the two main bedrooms. Values in our building dropped soon after, but are still much higher than what we paid -- more than what we sold for, as well. Our apartment was in Jackson Heights, about 20 minutes on the subway from midtown.
lhamo
My name is Gregg and I'm an addict. DW and I DVR an untold number of shows almost all of which are either on HGTV or the Food Network. We actually get a huge kick out of the folks that complain about the bath tub for six being too small. Sometimes it is observing the ridiculous that keeps you grounded.
I too like Selling NY. I find it fascinating, just for the money involved. I also like Income Property. I liked Property Virgins too, but it seems like they don't have that Sandra Rinamato (sp?) person on anymore, so I stopped watching it. I'm intrigued by the whole Canandian (Toronto) market. I can't figure out how people can afford those homes. Of course, I watched 'Til Debt Do Us Part' too, so maybe they can't afford them. LOL.
I used to watch House Hunters too, but it seemed like every show was shopping for boring suburban homes, so I stopped recording it. Has it changed much?
The most ridiculous ones are the ones that walk through a house and say stuff like, 'I really like this room or the layout, but the colors are horrible! Or the furniture is ratty!'
The furniture isn't for sale you nut jobs, and a can of paint can change anything! When we bought our home we got a great deal on it and I think it was in part due to the colors in the rooms, which were shocking, I admit. Neon green and shiny, enameled red and orange..on the walls! It was horrible, and it was quite a job covering, but we did and now have a delightful country home.
the show I liked, they don't make it anymore of course, was the one where the homeowners would pick a picture in a magazine of a really pretty room, and extremely expensive (like $100,000) and the team would show them how to recreate the room for maybe 2 or 3 thousand. That included floor treatments, furniture, accessories, everything. And they were really close most of the time. I always liked the recreated room and sometimes better than the original expensive room. What I liked about the show was, after watching several of them i do believe I could do this too. I know I could. It really demystified the whole putting it together thing.
I enjoy watching HGTV and like to keep up with current architectural and interior design trends. What continues to baffle me is how people can stand inside a $700,000 home and ooh and ah over the $1,000 flat-screen TV over a fireplace in the family room (which I abhor!) and completely miss $30,000 worth of raised panel cherry kitchen cabinets, gorgeous architecture and views. I can't stand seeing twenty-somethings whine about very nice first homes not having stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, hardwood floors and customized closets. I cannot help but wonder what sort of parents produced such high-maintenance offspring.
I think FOOD Network and COOKING Channel programs are enjoyable, but I follow a rather strict diet, so I find myself either not able to eat many of the foods they prepare or having to adapt them. I'm surprised that there are not more FOOD Network and COOKING Channel programs for people with specific dietary needs and preferences.
Holmes on Homes is fantastic. And he's hot. There....I said it.
But I totally agree with the take on House Hunters and other real estate purchasing shows. There is a constant insistence on stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, travertine marble and other high end finishes in enormous kitchens. God forbid your cabinets aren't the latest exact shade of oak or cherry stain with a glass tile back splash under them. And half of those people don't cook. It's all for show. At some point they got away from buying houses to live in and instead focus on checking off all the boxes for resale value. This trend on HGTV is being driven by their advertisers. They keep pushing you to not be satisfied with your house so you'll spend your life and all your money at Lowes and Home Depot.
I do like House Hunters International because I like to see how people live in other places. And I love to see the look on the real estate agents' faces when they're faced with the unrealistic expectations of Americans who think they should be able to get everything they want at the equivalent price of where ever they live in the US. One would think these people would do some homework before they drag some real estate professional on a relentless search for what doesn't exist.
This trend on HGTV is being driven by their advertisers. They keep pushing you to not be satisfied with your house so you'll spend your life and all your money at Lowes and Home Depot.
Exactly right Charity. +1
Exactly right Charity. +1
Nothing sells like misery and dissatisfaction.
goldensmom
5-16-12, 12:18pm
Yes, I'm with you. I've grown to hate the wastefulness that takes place. Perfectly workable, well-functioning kitchens, albeit, minus the latest and greatest, but let's all gut-them, and fill-up the landfill with more perfectly good/usable stuff. It's disgusting.
For the most part I like HGTV although some of it is over the top and what do these people (especially the really, really young people) do to afford such expensive houses. Anyway, when they back up a dumpster and load it up with usable materials that can be reused/repurposed, the frugal in me gets all worked up. Why not deconstruct rather that demo---recycle, resell, re-purpose, give the stuff away?
Why not deconstruct rather that demo---recycle, resell, re-purpose, give the stuff away?
I was a builder for many years in a market where the common theme was knocking down the old house to build something grander in its place. A few times the houses getting the axe were something that would have easily sold for hundreds of thousands of dollars in most cities in the US. We would run ads inviting people to show up and take whatever they could use. We would usually help them remove whatever it was (more for liability protection for us, but still a big benefit to them). Do you think we could get people to come and take anything that was used even if it was absolutely free? Appliances were about the only things we could give away. Out of literally hundreds of plumbing fixtures that ended up at the dump I remember ONE lady who came and got a pedestal sink, but would not touch the perfectly fine toilet that matched it. A very few times someone would come and get an electrical fixture. No doors, no windows, no wood floors, no iron stair railings...nothing. It was SO sad. I couldn't stand it and so for a while would pick out the best of the best and store it in our barn. Took about 6 months and there wasn't enough room for me to get inside. We used everything we could to renovate our house and then I had to send the rest to the dump because I still couldn't find anyone to take it.
I haven't seen HGTV in ages. When i used to watch it, it was all design on a dime type shows. After it got all about changing everything on bigger and bigger budgets, i decided to stop watching because I didn't like most of the outcomes (all of the places started to look the same).
I found the house hunting shows to be ridiculous at best, and i found it really frustrating that people were passing up really nice homes for ones well outside of their budget. And then, renovating outside of their budget.
Places like the salvation army, habitat for humanity restore and many architectural salvage places will take things that you're no longer using. And then people like myself will trawl those in order to find what we want. :)
I noticed in the renovation shows that the installs are always the high end of the product line. I used to like the show Buy Me which wasn't nearly as produced as House Hunters.
I saw Selling LA/New York a few times this past winter but the prices of the real estate depressed the stuffings out of me. What can I say? I like being middle class and out of date.
Mighty Frugal
5-16-12, 9:27pm
I live in Toronto so naturally love Property Virgins-often the prices are much higher now then they were when it was originally taped! Our home is worth 3 times what we paid for it. We are glad we got in when we did-no way we could afford this neighbourhood
Sandra Rinaldo has a new show called 'Buy Herself' I think it's on at 10pm on Mondays (?) Same concept I've seen one episode-I like her! You can also hire her to stage your home-I saw a billboard on a streetcar shelter
She does many shows in the States too.
I also love Income Property and think Scott is a cutie too-but he totally knows it!!!
Holmes on Homes is good but makes me a bit sick because we live in a super old home that has had a bit of reno work and I don't even want to know what is wrong!
Has anyone ever watched the original Brit program but it is now in the States (or possibly Canada??) it has this foxy aristocratic tall brunette English woman who scolds the home owner and fluffs the home to sell it. In the British version there is a hunky male real estate agent as well-the name of the show escapes me. Not 'Sell this House' with the other foxy brunette...this one is English
I also love any Sarah Richardson show-I love her decorating..and her side kick reminds me strangely of Pokey from Gumby and Pokey-anyone know who I am talking about?
I adore Sarah Susanka: I have a few of her architecture/design books: I'll definitely check out The Not So Big Life.
PS.. is that a plug for Minnesota, Steve? She's from MN I believe--my DB and DSIL live there and built their house on her principles and it's a great (smallish) house.
I like living in Minnesota, though it's not for everybody. We have plenty of McMansions and bungalows "updated!" with stainless steel and granite. We don't have Sarah Susanka, who moved to North Carolina after her divorce. :(
Has anyone ever watched the original Brit program but it is now in the States (or possibly Canada??) it has this foxy aristocratic tall brunette English woman who scolds the home owner and fluffs the home to sell it.
The Unsellables?
Mighty Frugal
5-17-12, 8:23am
The Unsellables?
YES!! Thank you-it was driving me bonkers. I love that show! Love the old old character rich homes in England
I agree with Charity. Mike Holmes is such a sexy manly man. Yummy! Much better then pretty boy Scott on Income Property. But Mike's show scares me to death. We're finally getting to the point where we're starting to think about maybe possibly, perhaps in the next few years, buying a home. But after watching so many episodes of Holmes Inspection I'm so paranoid that every single house we look at will be secretly about to fall down. One interesting thing I've noted about Income Property and Holmes Inspection. Every unexpected problem that pops up on Holmes Inspection always ends up being really really bad, but every unexpected problem on Income Property sounds really bad at first but never ends up being a big deal. I have to wonder if that's more of an effort by the producers to keep each show on focus, rather then real differences in the severity of the problems the homeowners and their contractors are facing.
iris lily
5-17-12, 10:45am
YES!! Thank you-it was driving me bonkers. I love that show! Love the old old character rich homes in England
Last time we were in the UK we, every morning, watched back to back programs of the British versions of those house buying shows. OMG I loved them even more than Selling NEW York because they were all about historic properties. It's sad that we sat inside our bedroom and watched tv, but hey, that was part of our vacation experience.
I'm amused by all the Holmes love here. My partner enjoys his show, so I watched it with him once. For some reason, Mike Holmes brings up such a visceral sense of repulsion in me that I don't care what he has to say. He reminds me of someone, but I've wracked my memory to no avail. Maybe he was my nemesis (or ex-husband) in a previous life. I'm not attracted to beefy, muscle-bound men in general, but my response to him is extreme, for no apparent reason.
I just learned that yesterday's House Hunters had a young couple featured who bought a house in my very neighborhood! How about that! cool. This is a great place to live and they made the right decision.
If any of you saw that show about St. Louis, let me know.
the show I liked, they don't make it anymore of course, was the one where the homeowners would pick a picture in a magazine of a really pretty room, and extremely expensive (like $100,000) and the team would show them how to recreate the room for maybe 2 or 3 thousand. That included floor treatments, furniture, accessories, everything. And they were really close most of the time. I always liked the recreated room and sometimes better than the original expensive room. What I liked about the show was, after watching several of them i do believe I could do this too. I know I could. It really demystified the whole putting it together thing.
I would have LOVED that show! Metropolitan Home used to have that same feature in every months magazine issue. They showed a $20,000 room and then on the opposite page, a knock off for $2,000. I loved it.
Remember when we all had to look ata magazines to get the ideas? I'll bet that the home decor mags are suffering with all of the HGTV competition.
I would have LOVED that show! Metropolitan Home used to have that same feature in every months magazine issue. They showed a $20,000 room and then on the opposite page, a knock off for $2,000. I loved it.
Remember when we all had to look ata magazines to get the ideas? I'll bet that the home decor mags are suffering with all of the HGTV competition.
I looked it up Iris and it was called Sensible Chic. You might be able to find videos of this show at HGTV or maybe on youtube. It really is worth having a look. At first you think why is that room an $80,000 room, but then when the hosts break it down for you, you see they put down a $10,000 area rug and a $15,000 table and so on till it's up to $80,000. The hosts show how you can get an almost identical rug or table for maybe $500 or $1000, or less. It really was a cool show and I was sorry it stopped. I guess the high end designers didn't like HGTV pulling back the curtain. The point of the channel is to sell after all.
Yeah, I imagine the decorating mags are suffering, but I think most of them have moved on line, or at least have content on line, so if they still have advertisers, it's all good. I know if I want to just 'browse' i will go to google images and type in 'french country' or 'cool patio' of something like that and get thousands of images.
I want to do my bathroom over. Not major renovation but change the look so I'm going to browse images of bathrooms and put my 'sensible chic' skills to work. Well, maybe this fall when there is more time. Summer is just too busy!
I just learned that yesterday's House Hunters had a young couple featured who bought a house in my very neighborhood! How about that! cool. This is a great place to live and they made the right decision.
If any of you saw that show about St. Louis, let me know.
Hey, Iris Lily, I was in St. Louis for three days this week! Outside of St. Louis, actually--in a hotel in Westport--working around the Creve Coeur area.
Hey, Iris Lily, I was in St. Louis for three days this week! Outside of St. Louis, actually--in a hotel in Westport--working around the Creve Coeur area.
Westport. Blech. Sorry you didn't get into town to see the real St. Louis.
peggy I will most def look up Sensible Chic!
I would have LOVED that show! Metropolitan Home used to have that same feature in every months magazine issue. They showed a $20,000 room and then on the opposite page, a knock off for $2,000. I loved it.
Remember when we all had to look ata magazines to get the ideas? I'll bet that the home decor mags are suffering with all of the HGTV competition.
I think that was before Metropolitan Home took it over and it was still Apartment Life--which was, IMO, a much, much better magazine.
Westport. Blech. Sorry you didn't get into town to see the real St. Louis.
I actually spent three months in St. Louis, living at Union Station, next to the old Kiel (which I understand has since been torn down??) in 1993.
I actually spent three months in St. Louis, living at Union Station, next to the old Kiel (which I understand has since been torn down??) in 1993.
oh no! Keil was recently renovated and reopened as a performance venue.
Your kid was in King of the Hill, right? We were just talking about Soderbuergh in the local film chat board.
oh no! Keil was recently renovated and reopened as a performance venue.
Your kid was in King of the Hill, right? We were just talking about Soderbuergh in the local film chat board.
Yes!! He played Sullivan, the little brother. Steven Soderbergh was absolutely the nicest guy... and he is a great director.
What a great thread this is! Absolutely lovin' reading through everyone's entries.
chickpea30
6-21-12, 9:46am
HGTV is why I cancelled our cable service years ago. I would watch the renovations and think how much money the homeowners would have to bring in to afford these renovations. There was one episode of a home renovation show, I don't remember which one, where the homeowners remodeled their entire home, adding on rooms, making the home more luxurious, etc... and it took a half a year. In the meantime the whole family were living in the house cramped together with construction crews working around them. In the end, the home was indeed beautiful, but the show followed up months later and relayed that the male homeowner had lost his job shortly after the renovation had been completed and had to sell the home at a loss. That stayed with me for a while.
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