House Hunters

I love shows about real estate on channels like HGTV and TLC. I love the shows where they flip houses, or try to make them more marketable, whatever.

I especially love "House Hunters" where would-be homebuyers tour three different homes and then decide which one to buy. It's the reason I'm up late many nights - like tonight - because I have to see the whole show or else what's the point? And of course, trying to guess which one they'll go for is just part of the fun.

Some parts of it crack me up though. Last night a couple was looking for a new home in somewhere-I've-never-heard-of Florida and the woman was clearly not impressed with the decor of the homes they were seeing. She kept making pretty strong comments like, "This is so ugly" and "I hate this color (of paint)."

That's all well and fine, but I kept thinking about the poor people who were trying to sell the house. I mean, they had to have signed off on something allowing these people to bring cameras into their home, right? Chances are they're going to see the show. And sure, maybe the decor needed some updating but it wasn't all bad - different strokes and all, folks.

The clincher though was when the couple chose the house the woman had complained the most about. (Or maybe that was just some creative editing, who knows?) From the way it had been put together, you would have thought there was nothing she liked about that house. But any good real estate agent will tell you to look beyond things like paint and carpet... apparently someone reminded her of that - off camera.

I also love when they go to international locations - very interesting to see what is considered "standard" in a home in another country. Or maybe I should say what *isn't* considered standard.

The other interesting thing about these shows is seeing the real effect cost of living has. I love when people are "working with a budget of $500,000" and end up with something roughly the size of my bedroom. Sure, living here has its drawbacks, but it has its benefits too and affordability is no small matter.