Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Yeah, but after what we know about other shows being staged it's makes you wonder if property virgins isn't exactly the same. Maybe the people know exactly what they can afford and the show stages them looking at more expensive houses in the opening scene just to make it look like they don't know what they are doing.
I wonder if the "virgins" appear too knowledgable if the show wouldn't try and make it look like they actually don't know what they are doing.
This is exactly what I think. That she drags them down to some other neighborhood and tells 'em they can't afford it (whether or not they ever mentioned liking that particular neighborhood).
And what is with all these Ricky Retardo sub-20% down payments?! If she was really trying to help and educate these people, she'd send 'em back down the road to their rental until they were financially prepared to buy a house.
YES! I like her, and I like how they don't always get the house in the end. But I strongly object to the scene that is in the beginning of almost every.single.episode. They're walking down the street of houses way out of the buyers' price range. They discuss finances. She says, "You prequalified for a mortgage of 200K, and you have 20K saved for a downpayment. So you're looking at a budget of $220K?"
The buyers respond, "No, we want to stick to something under 180K."
And she ALWAYS pushes them to borrow as much as they can. She'll ask, "WHY?" as though they're idiots.
YES! I like her, and I like how they don't always get the house in the end. But I strongly object to the scene that is in the beginning of almost every.single.episode. They're walking down the street of houses way out of the buyers' price range. They discuss finances. She says, "You prequalified for a mortgage of 200K, and you have 20K saved for a downpayment. So you're looking at a budget of $220K?"
The buyers respond, "No, we want to stick to something under 180K."
And she ALWAYS pushes them to borrow as much as they can. She'll ask, "WHY?" as though they're idiots.
Maybe one if their sponsors is the NAR and they want people to buy at their max purchasing power? Either way, a lot of what she says does make it seem like she's a terrible buyer's agent. It's like k374 said that she always advises to go in at list price and then outbid someone who randomly showed up to compete and drive the price up.
When that sort of thing happens in real life do people just say forget it and walk away? That's what I'd do. Just walk away and come back 3 weeks later to see if it's under contract. If not then offer even less than what you offered the first time and see what happens. If they want to play games they can handle losing.
Maybe one if their sponsors is the NAR and they want people to buy at their max purchasing power? Either way, a lot of what she says does make it seem like she's a terrible buyer's agent. It's like k374 said that she always advises to go in at list price and then outbid someone who randomly showed up to compete and drive the price up.
When that sort of thing happens in real life do people just say forget it and walk away? That's what I'd do. Just walk away and come back 3 weeks later to see if it's under contract. If not then offer even less than what you offered the first time and see what happens. If they want to play games they can handle losing.
Oh, baby, you are so right. We bought recently in what has historically been a competitive market (even in the recent 'recesssion')...walking away has almost always gotten us a phone call a few days later with, "Would you be willing to...?"
The house we actually bought, we said, "This is our offer, we're not taking counters." Our buyer's agent (ROTM scum) suggested we do it, and then when the sellers countered, she asked, "And what would you like to counter back?" We were livid! She was the one who told us to go in with our best bid and hold...but these people are all about dollar signs and could give a crap about you. We ignored her, held firm, and got our house for the deal WE asked for.
Anyone like watching "Renovation Reality" or something like that. I love how every one of them think it's super easy. There's one guy that I've seen twice on that show. The last time he tried putting a metal roof on some crack looking house. I don't think I've seen one person actually finish the job completely. That's probably the most real show they have.
No kidding. And what is with that thing where she takes them to some ridiculous neighborhood way out of their price range so that she can chastise them for ever having hoped or dreamed?!! That's just mean and unnecessary...really, I think it's part of her psychological tactic to lower their expectations.
And what is with all these Ricky Retardo sub-20% down payments?! If she was really trying to help and educate these people, she'd send 'em back down the road to their rental until they were financially prepared to buy a house.
Ugh I hate that realtor Sandra also! I've heard Canada is in a real estate bubble. One of my friends told me that there are people waiting on line to buy houses/condos. It seems to me that a lot of these people she's selling homes to in Canada are overpriced and she pressures them to purchase these over priced homes and bid over asking on them.
It also makes me mad that she is always bewildered when people say they don't want to spend the max they were approved for.
I know someone who was on one of those "Sell this house" shows. They had them stack up crap all over and leave toys out, etc, (as if they would really try to sell their house like that). Also, part of the show is that they only spend $1000 to "fix it up" however, the show gave them several pieces of new furniture and during show they would say "We used a rug from the study and a sofa from the basement for this room" so those items were not included in the $1000 fix up but were new. I thought that was pretty funny.
I know someone who was on one of those "Sell this house" shows. They had them stack up crap all over and leave toys out, etc, (as if they would really try to sell their house like that). Also, part of the show is that they only spend $1000 to "fix it up" however, the show gave them several pieces of new furniture and during show they would say "We used a rug from the study and a sofa from the basement for this room" so those items were not included in the $1000 fix up but were new. I thought that was pretty funny.
Design on a dime. I realize the show is unrealistic (they're always $1 away from their budget) but they do have some great ideas for fixing things on the cheap.
This is exactly what I think. That she drags them down to some other neighborhood and tells 'em they can't afford it (whether or not they ever mentioned liking that particular neighborhood).
I think she is taking them to a neighborhood that they like and might want to live, but to prove to them that the houses are out of reach, that is why she asks them how much they think the homes are...then she zaps them with the price, and it is off to the other side of the tracks.....
Design on a dime. I realize the show is unrealistic (they're always $1 away from their budget) but they do have some great ideas for fixing things on the cheap.
That's it! Design on a Dime!
They do have good ideas. But they also don't figure in labor costs which is usually the most pricey part.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
