OT: The HGTV Syndrome

[paramount]

I’ve not heard this term or disease name noted elsewhere, so I’m coining it right here, right now. It’s called:

The HGTV Syndrome

Admittingly, I haven’t fully defined the disease, but I have witnessed it firsthand. Here are some of the symptoms affecting an already materialistic proletariat:

Symptom

1. I must have the absolute perfect house: location, layout, neighborhood, etc….the list is highly detailed, never ends and is basically impossible to satisfy by persons of average or even above-average means.

Cause

Watching to much HGTV where buyers have a ‘limited’ budget of 800k. As a result, they really have to shop carefully don’t you know – but of course not so carefully that they can’t be overly picky.

Symptom

2. Any home improvement can be accomplished and is possible. I mean after all, they make it look so easy on HGTV.

Cause

Viewers who live in a fantasy world not realizing that HGTV has the means to easily hire some of the best people to perform the work. And you don’t.

Symptom

3. Your never happy or satisfied with where you live, or the house that you live in right now.

Cause

Mistaking HGTV for a reality/real-life show – it isn’t.
It’s a Hollywood production people. Those beautiful appliances, tile, etc…are not reality for most families. Be happy with what you have – more than likely you’ll go broke trying to keep up with HGTV.

Now, step away from the remote, get your butt of the couch and free yourself from the bondage that is HGTV.

Can I get an Amen!?

[an]

I love HGTV and DVR a lot of their design shows for ideas (I usually just fast forward to the end to see what the end result is). However, I don’t seem to have any of those symptoms. I also love http://www.houzz.com (great place to get interior design ideas).

[lpjohnso]

Ha! I am on my laptop with HGTV on in the background. Damn, I’ve had “HGTV Syndrome” for many years. Before HGTV I could care less about laminate vs granite. It has definitely cost me money and has made me think that I deserve more than what I have, when I actually don’t deserve anything! Good post and thanks for diagnosing my illness!

[lpjohnso]

I’m guilty of loving http://www.houzz.com too.

[svelte]

I think you’re close though not spot-on. We’ve had symptoms for years as we seem to be constantly improving our home, maybe partially fueled by HGTV but also fueled by having the time & money to finally upgrade our nest to be what we want it to be.

I think we are finally reaching a saturation point with HGTV home shows though….our consumption of them has trailed off dramatically the last six months. Not sure what we’ll end up watching with our after dinner wine now, though a combination of drifter antique collectors, storage vultures, and lard butt pawn shop shows have been filling the void until we find the Next Big Show.

[UCGal]

I admit I watch the shows on HGTV a lot.

And there are definitely people who are completely unable to see “diamonds in the rough”, because of all the shiny/sparkly graniteel’d houses on HGTV.

It amazes me when I see a buyer on Property Virgins or House Hunters that will say something like “House A had a great layout and price, but the appliances were white and the counters looked dated. House B was more expensive and had tiny little rooms – but that kitchen had stainless and granite”. And then they pick house B.

Along the same lines – the inability of buyers to see beyond staging (or lack of staging). It’s become required to stage homes – largely due to expectations from HGTV. 10 years ago I rarely heard about homes needing staging when listed. Cleaned and painted, yes… but not swapping out furniture, removing family photos, etc. When did buyers get so picky they wouldn’t buy a house if it had a family photo in it?

I would also add another symptom to HGTV syndrome: Failure to do the math. Again on Prop Virgins and HH – they have very low downpayments (10K on a 400k budget for example) and the realtor fails to point out that improvements typically aren’t financed. Very rarely is the discussion “you can improve and update over time as finances allow”. They look at the 400k budget – and assume they have 100% of it for the finished product. Not with that small of a cash reserve.

[AK]

Most of the low down payment buyers I see on Property Virgins, etc., are Canadian … it seems one can still get 95% or even 100% financing in the Great White North.

But it’s OK because the market is hot, real estate never goes down, and it can’t happen there!

[UCGal]

[quote=AK]Most of the low down payment buyers I see on Property Virgins, etc., are Canadian … it seems one can still get 95% or even 100% financing in the Great White North.

But it’s OK because the market is hot, real estate never goes down, and it can’t happen there![/quote]
A lot are Canadian – but I see some domestic stuff too – Colorado, Georgia, Florida, etc. And these are post crash because they’re also dealing with short sales and foreclosures.

Sandra does venture out of Canada periodically. LOL

[bearishgurl]

A few years ago, I used to watch “Design on a Dime.” (Not sure if it is still aired.)

The show was such a riot. I think the homeowner got $1,000 from the network to spruce up their property and the designer on the show suggested (and also made) the most idiotic things for the decor, such as a hanging lamp made of wire coat hangers, toilet paper rolls and tissue paper. The whole place usually ended up looking like a VERY low-budget college dorm room by the time the show was over. The only sensible thing they did was to make offers on and purchase second-hand furniture (from garage sales and ads) and then strip and refinish the item(s). That was the only good idea that came out of this show, IMO :=]

[sdduuuude]

Mrs. duuuuude and I are big HGTV watchers.

From what I can gather, there are two genes in the human DNA structure that often appear together in a single individual. One makes you gay and the other one makes you a design-freak. I’m a rare case that only received one of the two. Hence – MRS. duuuude is a female and I love design shows. They’re faaabulous. Uh. I mean. Awesome.

In fact, I thought the “G” in HGTV stood for “Gay” but apparently is is “Garden” Huh. Who knew. My wife and I like to play a game when watching those design competition shows. It’s called “spot the straight guy.” It’s a very difficult game. We have been playing for years and are still looking for him.

We have touched every square inch of our little house since buying it in 1998. We have nothing left to redesign so it must be time to buy a fixer-upper and start over.

[sdrealtor]

What is HGTV?

[svelte]

[quote=sdduuuude]
In fact, I thought the “G” in HGTV stood for “Gay” but apparently is is “Garden” Huh. Who knew. My wife and I like to play a game when watching those design competition shows. It’s called “spot the straight guy.” It’s a very difficult game. We have been playing for years and are still looking for him.
[/quote]

lol. we play a similar game when watching House Hunters…called “Who’s the Guy?”. Not sure why, but in almost all lesbian and gay couples, one half tries to assume a male look/demeanor. We have fun trying to be the first to figure out which is which.

[svelte]

[quote=UCGal]
It amazes me when I see a buyer on Property Virgins or House Hunters that will say something like “House A had a great layout and price, but the appliances were white and the counters looked dated. House B was more expensive and had tiny little rooms – but that kitchen had stainless and granite”. And then they pick house B.[/quote]

Did you know that when most House Hunter episodes are filmed, the buyers have already bought one of the three homes?

Usually, they find a couple who is already is escrow then film the clip with the house they’ve chosen and two of the other homes they looked at. That’s why we can usually figure out which one they bought by watching their enthusiasm as they walk through the house…they’re usually much much more enthusiastic about the home they’ve already decided to purchase.

[CA renter]

[quote=UCGal]I admit I watch the shows on HGTV a lot.

And there are definitely people who are completely unable to see “diamonds in the rough”, because of all the shiny/sparkly graniteel’d houses on HGTV.

It amazes me when I see a buyer on Property Virgins or House Hunters that will say something like “House A had a great layout and price, but the appliances were white and the counters looked dated. House B was more expensive and had tiny little rooms – but that kitchen had stainless and granite”. And then they pick house B.

Along the same lines – the inability of buyers to see beyond staging (or lack of staging). It’s become required to stage homes – largely due to expectations from HGTV. 10 years ago I rarely heard about homes needing staging when listed. Cleaned and painted, yes… but not swapping out furniture, removing family photos, etc. When did buyers get so picky they wouldn’t buy a house if it had a family photo in it?

I would also add another symptom to HGTV syndrome: Failure to do the math. Again on Prop Virgins and HH – they have very low downpayments (10K on a 400k budget for example) and the realtor fails to point out that improvements typically aren’t financed. Very rarely is the discussion “you can improve and update over time as finances allow”. They look at the 400k budget – and assume they have 100% of it for the finished product. Not with that small of a cash reserve.[/quote]

Doesn’t this (in bold) drive you crazy? They seem to do it all the time, too! You’ll see them walk out of a house because it had purple walls. Um, hello!!!???!!! Have they never heard of paint?

This is what’s so frustrating to those of us who hate flipping. There are some painfully stupid buyers out there who only look for the granite/stainless steel, and fail to note the lot, location, and layout.

BTW, I think it’s funny that people who obsess about housing on econ/housing blogs would think HGTV-watching is a disease. We’re probably some of the worst offenders. 😉

[Author]

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