Buying A Home
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Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
What attributes of houses do you find overly hyped..
I always watch house hunters and one attribute that seems to be popular for lots of people is a large master bedroom. To me that's at the bottom of my list, I really just view this as a sleeping and dressing area. I never needed a reading area in my bedroom or other uses people mention.
Actually, if the room is too big is more of a turn off than an indifferent attribute.
Others?
Re: What attributes of houses do you find overly hyped..
I do like a large master bedroom, but I don't get the separate sitting room off the master. We have two chairs in our master that get used frequently, but I don't see the point of having a separate sitting room.
House hunters annoys me bc so many of them focus on the easily changeable items - like wallpaper, flooring, etc. But I still watch all the time!
While a nice master bath is a plus, I don't see it as crucial as a lot of people do. We have a bath right off the bedroom on the main level, which is good enough for me but seems to throw people off.
Another thing that is overrated to me is a completely updated kitchen. While I like the look of stainless steel and granite counters as much as the next girl, I get the feeling that in a few years, these kitchens will be the equivalent of tiled kitchens with laminate counters and honey colored cabinets- dated. If the space is big enough and the flow is good, I wouldn't let the finishes deter me.
Spa tubs. Maybe its just me, but I don't have time to lounge in the tub!
Dual shower heads. How often do two people actually shower together?
I also don't really get the large master bedroom thing. I'd rather have a larger kitchen, dining, or living room.
I always get annoyed at HH because I feel like they always whine about the wrong things. I also don't like the people with really tiny budgets who complain that the house isn't a fully renovated mansion.
Personally, I don't like the open floor plan trend but it seems to be very popular. I like everything to have a room.
I think that a lot of things are under-hyped: the amount of natural light a house gets and how hard re-painting actually is are the ones that are fresh in my mind right now.
I agree with this. Our last house was much smaller than our home now but it did have an open concept. It was nice to see everyone but when our families are over for parties the men usually sit and watch sports while the women are usally talking in the kitchen. In our old house it was a noise issue... the ladies would talk to loud and the volume of the tv kept going up.
It's nice to have a seperate room now and everyone can spare their eardrums.
Buyers on HHs annoy me. I'm so over people "needing" granite counters and stainless appliances. Like they won't be able to live without them!
I do like having a larger MBR but it is not a deal breaker for us. Our current MBR is huge but our new house will only have a 14x14 MBR.
I do like having lots of closet space and while double sinks are nice, I've managed to live most of my life without them.
I also have a love hate relationship with house hunters. It seems like for so many people a lack of a fence is a deal breaker. Maybe it's just my area, but very, very few homes have fences.
That, and that fact that everyone talks about "entertaining". "This room would be good for entertaining", "I can see entertaining in this dining room", "we love to entertain". Drives me batty.
House Hunters is completely 110% staged, yall. It's fake. The buyers have already bought one of those homes (generally the empty one) and they're just walking around the other 2 for kicks. That's why the price points will be off or it'll be 3 towns over or won't have the attributes they wanted.
The producers are very specific with couples about what they say. Rarely do they get to make their own comments - the producers tell them to fixate on the paint or the brass or the whatever and that's why they sound like idiots.
My Pinterest
The Googlesites Paint Bio
Thinking of doing cosmetic updates to a dated home? These were our costs.
Thats also why in 99% of the shows they "choose" the vacant house.
So most of you would hate our new house with its two story great room, big master and open concept living areas? Got it. LOL.
I agree on the tub thing- I so rarely take a bath vs. a shower that I would prefer to have a nice shower and no tub. I also agree with the fence thing.
Another thing I hate, and this is a personal taste issue, but white kitchens. God I hate white kitchens.
As far as granite/stainless, I do like the look, but I cannot understand the focus that seems to be placed on them. That stuff is easily changed. Same with light fixtures. People on HH are always complaining about light fixtures. I mean, those are easy to fix and not even all that expensive!
Yep, said that
My Pinterest
The Googlesites Paint Bio
Thinking of doing cosmetic updates to a dated home? These were our costs.
Derr, yes you did! Sorry. So glad it's Friday. Can't read good, brain mush.
Separate tub/shower in the master bath.
This was SO hyped when we were househunting, which admittedly was five years ago. I thought it was kind of cool that our house had a small garden tub and a walk-in shower until we actually used them... we didn't realize how small they were until we stood in them. It would have been SO much nicer if the builder had done a bigger garden tub/shower combo and a small linen closet instead.
We've since realized that almost all of the houses in our subdivision were built with the separate tub/shower in the MB, even if that meant tiny tubs and tiny showers. So ridiculous.
As far as open concept houses goes, I like them, and I love that we have our kitchen, dining area, and living area in one open space, but ours is a one-story house so no cavernous, a/c wasteful two story great room.
Meredith, 6-1-06 and Alex, 11-5-09
I like some white kitchens. There are lots of really cheap white kitchens out there though, that are just white laminated particle board doors. They always seem to have a weird plasticy sheen to them.
I really couldn't care less about having two sinks in the master bathroom. I'd rather have extra counter top space with just one sink.
I'm like an open floor plan to an extent, but only if there's a seperate den where we can have a seperate living area set up, like PP said, sometimes it's nice to have some seperation in certain situations.
Granite countertops.
Condition of carpeting. (rip it out, it's not that hard!)
Paint color
People are generally so stupid on those shows. It drives me crazy when they basically rule a house out because of something that can so easily be changed like the paint or countertops.
Well, I LOVE my 2-story family room, open concept, jetted tub, big master bedroom, big master bathroom...
To each his own though which is a good thing.
My Valentine Bookends (2~13~13, 2~15~09)
I have a lot of the "overly hyped" items that have been listed. None of them were deal-breakers for us though, we just happened to find a house in our budget that had many of those things. It's not like we would have refused to buy a house without granite counters or a fenced yard.
In general, I agree that large bedrooms isn't a priority. I mean, you pretty much just sleep there, so as long as your bed fits in the room and you have enough storage for clothes and such, what else do you really need?
And I totally don't get appliances being a deal breaker. They are so easy to change, it's not like it's a major renovation to put in a new stove or whatever.
My main complaint about HH is when people expect way too much for their price range. Don't expect a champagne house on a beer budget.
Mr. Sammy Dog
Anything you can achieve through hard work, you could also just buy.
I totally agree on the spa tub. My coworker said when she was building her house it was a must have but she can count the number of times in the last year she has actually used it. It's just taking up space in her bathroom now.
A dual head shower would actually be nice . . DH and I shower together all the time and it sucks to be the one in back without any warm water.
For me, we wanted a "decent" sized master bed and bath. Nothing crazy but something large enough we could get our furniture in without problem. A master closet and storage space was huge to me. I love storage!
Our house building adventure (UPDATED 8/20/12)
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Our wedding blogged! (Click Brad & Briana on the right side)
Spa/jet/jacuzzi tubs. Who the heck really uses them?
Enormous master bathrooms. I'd rather have a modest bath and extra closet space.
Two story foyers.
Granite counter tops -I hate them
Master suite - not necessary if there is a bathroom next to the bedroom.
Walk in closet - not needed as long as there is storage in the house for out of season items.
I wouldn't think a large master would be a downside. It would at the very least help with resale. But it's really not a requirement for my personal life. I just sleep there. I keep my clothes there. I think kids spend a lot more time in their room than adults. If I own an entire house, I won't spend the majority of the time in my bedroom.
I think updated bathrooms and kitchens are way overhyped. They don't really help with the value of the house, they only help with appeal. And sure, you might really enjoy a new jetted tub, or granite countertops, but as long as the space is functional, I'm totally down with buying something that needs cosmetic updates. Even though bathroom and kitchen are the most expensive cosmetic updates on the interior.
Also, flooring (second cheapest thing to change) and paint (cheapest thing to change). I just assume I'll end up painting the house, anyway, so I don't really care what's on the walls.
I care more about 1) amount of space in the house and layout (including whether the space is used by unecessary hallways, if the kitchen is big enough and well laid out, etc) and 2) major updates, like electric, roof, water heater, etc. At least it's fun to rip out and update the bathroom, because you get a new bathroom. Ripping out and replacing the wiring, not so much.
ETA: SBP is READING MY MIND. I love white kitchens (I have a few red small appliances, which I think look great with white cabinets - but my current cabinets are more beech-colored). And I hate open concept. I love formal dining rooms, dammit, not just a space between the living room and kitchen.
40/112
I JUST watched that this morning. He was such a dolt. Seriously? My mom gets "vibes" from houses too. That doesn't mean you're clairvoyant. And that house he wouldn't even walk into was SO staged, especially since the one they went to after that at the "last minute" was the house they bought.
40/112
I love my jetted tub and use it about once a week.
I also love my formal living and dining rooms and fenced back yard.
Our seller offered a granite countertop allowance but didn't deal with more pressing issues like rotting wood around the garage door. We didn't take the countertop allowance (asked for the reduction in price instead) and he fixed all the issues after the inspection so I guess it worked out fine.
Exactly this. I'm very annoyed by this especially because now FI thinks he needs granite countertops and stainless steel appliances. One smack in his head is all I have to do.
Blasphemy!!! I LOVE walk in closets. My dream house would have walk in closets in every bedroom!!
I love reading everyone's comments - it's fun to see how everyone has different preferences.
I also agree with the comment about jacuzzi tubs. I think they are worthless. I would rather make the master shower bigger, with more showerhead and jets!!
I do love two story spaces, even though they are inefficient. Our home has an open floor plan with a 2 story great room, and I love it.