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I like the show overall even though it's the same formula every time. I hate that Hilary can't seem to budget. You would think that after doing as many homes as she does, she'd create designs that are UNDER budget to accommodate for the "issue" that ALWAYS comes up (contrived for TV I'm sure). I do love what she does get done.
Exactly. It's a TV show. If she was able to give them everything they wanted, then there wouldn't be much of a decision at the end of the show. The drama is created to keep people watching until the end.
I feel bad for her too but I do think she should try harder to move heaven and earth to meet their needs more. In one episode the husband ruined the budget by wanting to keep the use of a woodburning stove that it turned out would be really expensive to move to a new location in the house. Hillary got him a new hybrid model but couldnt tell him how much it would cost to install it. He had to make his decision to go ahead with the project without knowing how much it would cost because they could not give him an estmate until after they started doing the work, and then when after starting the project and it was clear the cost was too high Hillary said it was too late to change his mind. I felt she should have demanded an estimate first, or just cut her losses after starting the project and returned the thing when she saw it was too expensive and he regretted it.
I think David is often rude and bossy with the couples. Hillary can also be a bit rude but she is so talented I feel bad for her when she can't deliver all that they want her to.
I remember that ep. If I were the wife, I would have put my foot down.
The problem with these people, they don't realize how much renos cost. There are so many eps where the owners want this and want that but they are not willing to pay for it. They want Hillary to work miracles. And then they are adding things to the list and they don't add to the budget. "Just take it out of the budget we already have." And then there is the fact that something unexpected ALWAYS comes up that will eat into the budget. I know there is a contingency just in case but nine times out of 10 the contingency gets eaten up, too.
I think Hillary's success record is better than David's.
I find it funny that so many people have budgets of $700,000 and up. I guess the pay in Canada is that stratospheric?
^^^This. Every show on HGTV (and I know most are filmed in Canada) features couples with astronomical budgets. I wish they would spend some time talking about the cost of living in the region they're filming in and the corresponding salaries. I'm floored when it comes to many of these budgets. You could get mansions and plenty of land in my area for that price and I live in a major metro area.
^^^This. Every show on HGTV (and I know most are filmed in Canada) features couples with astronomical budgets. I wish they would spend some time talking about the cost of living in the region they're filming in and the corresponding salaries. I'm floored when it comes to many of these budgets. You could get mansions and plenty of land in my area for that price and I live in a major metro area.
not to switch off too much...
in an International House Hunters episode, coupler are looking at houses in Spain or somewhere like that with prices in the millions. Host mentions frequently how they also needed to accommodate their childrens book business. I get excited as I love a story about the regular guy hitting it big (hope for me) and I have a new granddaughter who will need books... so I start googling!
With first names of the couple and a book reference, it was easy to find that husband was a big shot Wall Street banker who made millions before retiring early, and that book business had only sold probably hundreds of copies as it was very niched to specific New England towns.
I think he shows them homes over their budget because he includes the increased value of their current home after Hilary has remodeled it. He's basically bumping the budget up due to the additional money he thinks they'll get when they sale their remodeled home. I agree though, I'd hate for anyone to buy more home than they can afford.
I like the show overall even though it's the same formula every time. I hate that Hilary can't seem to budget. You would think that after doing as many homes as she does, she'd create designs that are UNDER budget to accommodate for the "issue" that ALWAYS comes up (contrived for TV I'm sure). I do love what she does get done.
I think the realtor does an excellent job at selecting homes although I don't really like his attitude. He does find them exactly what they want, it's up to them whether or not they should spend the money.
I know the value of the home increases but don't the homeowners still have to pay back the cost of the renovation? I wonder what will happen to the show and the homeowner budget if the housing market goes down again ?
There's got to be so much I don't understand....Hillary never gets the whole job done from what I've
seen, no matter what the budget is....David can show them beautiful places completely upgraded and
they decide to stay and "love it" instead...I'm sure it's either too high for their budget, in the wrong
neighborhood, something else I'm not getting...in very few cases would I stay with those half done
houses....it looks like David must fulfill all the "must haves" yet Hillary never is able to and that's okay..
but like I said I'm sure there is a logical reason.
I've seen a few episodes where Hillary is quite clear that she can't deliver everything the family wants on their budget. She's also made it clear that if they own an older house that there could be unforeseen problems that may eat up the budget. So she hasn't always promised she can deliver everything.
On the whole she's "won" more episodes than David has.
Quote:
Originally Posted by bellmark
The biggest problem for me is the remodel woman...
She hears their "wants". Hears their budget.
Very strongly says "I can do all of this for you!"
and then does half.
yeah.. surprises come up, but I think her overall record stinks and i wouldnt trust her.
My favorite episode was the one with an eco-minded family in an old Toronto row house. They wanted a new kitchen and when Hillary ordered the new cabinets, the couple threw a fit because they wanted the original cabinets to be refinished and reused because it was more eco-friendly, even though Hillary made it clear it would cost quite a bit more to refinish and reuse the cabinets (they were already on a tight budget). The couple responded by saying that they were committed to an eco-friendly lifestyle regardless of the cost.
And it later turned out that all the sewage in their house was being flushed right into the lake instead of the proper sewer lines!
I saw another episode during which the couple, without warning Hillary, bought a bunch of high end appliances for the kitchen in their very modest house. It meant that Hillary had to redo all the construction work currently being done because the stove and fridge were bigger than the allotted space and the new cabinets were already put in place. The wife said she'd always wanted these appliances for her dream kitchen.
Then they listed the house at the end of the show!
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99% with Hillary
