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and the part I never understood was they don't care what color or pattern the granite is, as long as it is granite.
and they don't care what the SS appliances look like, as long as they are SS.....
and since there are so many to choose from it makes no sense.....
I too don't know what the obsession is either, they are nice but not life altering....
This X1000. That is my biggest complaint. I like some granites and I actually like stainless steel appliances, but it all should harmonize! Not every kitchen looks great with granite and not all granite even looks great with stainless steel. Having generic "granite" doesn't raise the value for me. In fact, buyers who go with cheap, uncoordinated upgrades (ie going with whatever cheapest granite they can get, regardless of how it goes with cabinets, walls, appliances etc.) just to say they have them honestly lose some buyers that way imo because the seller is hoping to sell for higher by having those items in there, but no one wants to pay more for ugly finishes, even if they did cost more. At least if it was ugly and cheap materials, I could come in and rip them out and put in what I wanted!
As far as stainless though, our stainless is durable and very low maintenance and long-lasting. Glad we have stainless in that regard.
[quote=CSD610;29968888]I personally do not like either and would never purchase a home that had either. When we build a home we will not have either item in our home. Low maintenance, good quality, long lasting, easy to keep clean is the best way to go.
Plus, trying to find homes (prewar &postwar) that don't have that xerox'd kitchen and
plus the open concept (where they ripped out the trim, built in cabinets).
House Hunters is staged, although I don't believe that the couples are generally actors (I am sure there is a show or two for which that is true, but it isn't generally the case). To be on the show, you must already be UNDER CONTRACT on a home (if not already living there), so the outcome is fixed prior to the first house ever shown. The dramas and the comments are completely artificial, and the couples are told to play them up.
I don't watch the US based show, but I like watching the HH International show, although listening to the comments can be painfully "Ugly American" - although you know fairly quickly who is going to whine that apartments in Paris are so much smaller than their suburban Dallas home was and that an 800 sf apartment does not have a huge walk-in closet in the master. Sometimes I just turn the sound off, but I am always interested to see what the housing cost is in cities around the world.
ETA: for my next house, I am not looking for generic granite or stainless steel - I'd rather find an updater/fixer kitchen that no one else has updated (generally on the cheap) and do it myself in colors I prefer. I have quartz counter tops in my current kitchen, which I like for the low maintenance and impermeability, although the $/sf is high.
Last edited by PNW-type-gal; 06-11-2013 at 09:27 AM..
You all know everything on HGTV is staged and false right? Do you really really really think home buyers look at just 3 houses every time before they buy one? Do you really think some of those couples are married? THEY ARE ACTORS!!!! Do you really think the expressions on the fake home buyers faces are real as they walk into a house where the camera is already waiting? (like they don't know it's there) Do you know some of these houses are not even for sale? Many are staged and recruited for the show. Look at the credits at the end, you'll figure it out. "If we can use your house for this show we will outfit your home with free furniture, appliances etc etc" Get it?
I've said it before and I'll say it again. HGTV has done more damage to the construction industry then the current economic depression has. How do I answer my store phone when the caller says they just saw on HGTV they can buy a whole brand new kitchen for $995. Well sometimes I get sarcastic and ask if they'd like the appliances too for that price. Well HGTV said I can so it must be true.
HGTV is dangerous. Showing homes that are not for sale, at prices the Show Producers make up, showing homes by a person who is not even a Realtor, buyers who are not even buying a home and telling the TV audience false and incomplete information about the home buying process IS WRONG!!!! The show never shows the many frustrating paths to home ownership. Starting with banks who are not even lending anymore to anyone with under an 850 FICO.
This show was born from the home buying craze of the early 2000s. Just like the Flip This House shows. The dream of home ownership. Oh what a joke. The American Dream has become the American nightmare for many. They call it the American Dream because you have to be sleeping to experience it for many.
The show thrives on Joe IT man and his Pre-school Teacher wife who want to escape their 500 SF apartment and get into a nice home with granite counters and that marriage saving double master bath sink. Oh and lets not forget the giant sized yard for Rover in a neighborhood with nothing but postage stamp 50x100 lots. All this crap plays right into our love affair with home ownership and our desire to one day shop for our own........just like those Actors do on TV.
House Hunters is staged but not THIS fake.
PNW girl is correct. I personally know two Realtors from my area and one couple who were on the show, and they said what she said, that you have to be under contract but they also look at other homes in the area that are other listings from that agency.
The buyers are not actors.
Does anyone remember the old, original House Hunters format where they never told the prices, then had the "cliffhanger" right before the last commercial break where the buyers had made a choice and were just waiting to hear back? I think this was even pre-granite era. LOL
Then when they found out the offer was "accepted," the husband had to go in for that awkward congratulatory kiss. Good times.
It would be nice if on HH's when the stupid buyer wife or husband say's out loud: "I don't like the light fixture", (then the camera shows this little dinky brass light fixture from the 80's hanging in the dining room), which also could have been the only fixture the seller had to stick up there since they probably took down and packed away their crystal chandeleer to bring to their next home..........
the real estate agent should really chime in and say, Well: Don't you think it is more important to know about the condition of the roof, wiring, water pressure, heating and cooling mechanisims, windows, rather than a silly light fixture that you can go to Lowe's and buy in 5 minutes ??
like try to make the buyer look like a dummie......I don't like the paint color...ever heard of paint?
I don't like the carpeting, well apparantly the previous owner did since it was their home.
or the real estate lady can say, you know a white stove cooks just as good as a SS one.....
some SS appliances are nice and look good, but I have seen many SS that are ugly.
just because it is silver doesnt make it pretty. so many of the have a lot of black accents on them which is fine if it matches, but that doenst always match
Not all HGTV shows are fake. My cousin and her husband and their home were on one of the HGTV remodeling shows. They are a real couple with a real home!
From what I've read, the people buying homes on House Hunters already have their house bought, and look through a couple other homes. That is why they have to find the inane reasons to reject some lovely homes. It's entertainment.
Granite and Stainless Steel costs a fortune compared to normal formica and white appliances. And are generally newer. Normal, and general. It's no wonder young people like buying it. It is in every price class and in all different kinds of home in my metro area. When selling it has to be competitive to be sold.
I just saw in Menards flyer today, a granite countertop in two color choices that are in one stock size, 96" costing $229, with an $80 rebate. Don't know how nice they are but I'm going to find out. It doesn't have a lot of info on it, but that is a reasonable price to do a standard kitchen with two counters.
From what I've read, the people buying homes on House Hunters already have their house bought, and look through a couple other homes. That is why they have to find the inane reasons to reject some lovely homes. It's entertainment.
Granite and Stainless Steel costs a fortune compared to normal formica and white appliances. And are generally newer. Normal, and general. It's no wonder young people like buying it. It is in every price class and in all different kinds of home in my metro area. When selling it has to be competitive to be sold.
I just saw in Menards flyer today, a granite countertop in two color choices that are in one stock size, 96" costing $229, with an $80 rebate. Don't know how nice they are but I'm going to find out. It doesn't have a lot of info on it, but that is a reasonable price to do a standard kitchen with two counters.
I don't agree.
There are many low grade SS appliances out there, just because the shell is SS doesn't make it the greatest.
Also there are many ugly slabs of granit out there. Im not lovong all the speckeled slabs as another poster said. yuck.... I could have gotten a good deal on a granite slab from a granite warehouse here, however they only had 10 granites to choose from, and they were all freaking ugly. I was not going to settle because oh wow, it is granite...please......
I went with laminate and it is exactly the color I wanted and looks just as good, as it has the beveled edge, not that care what people think, cause I don't.
people need not be fooled by the color.
whether you have black, bisque, white, it seems as if you can just buy it, the HH will say it has to be upgraded.....upgraded to what, a flame on a stove is a flame. the gas does not know the difference of the color.
You forgot hardwood floors! I read a television snark forum, and they refer to granite countertops, stainless steel appliances, and hardwood floors as the Holy Trinity of HGTV home buying over there.
House Hunters International tends to be a little more fake, and you'll get some 'buyers' who have lived in the home for a year or so before filming began. But I'm willing to put up with the fake story lines to get to see the real homes in Slovenia or Mongolia or the Cape Verde Islands.
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