You know what gets me about HGTV Property Brothers... - Page 2

Nightowlz · ‎03-11-2010

We live in Ok & you can get a lot for your money. I cannot believe the prices of the houses they show on these shows. Where do these people work & how can they afford it? They had a Victorian house on Love it or List it yesterday valued at $800,000 & they gave Hillary $150,000 for renovations & was valued at $980,000 after. IMO before they started & showed the house it looked like a dump. No way no how would I pay the before or after price for that house.

terrier3 · ‎03-10-2010

On 6/17/2014 brii said:
I'm shocked at Canadian home prices too.

Prices in Toronto are almost as expensive as NYC.

Many of the HGTV shows are shot in Toronto. I recognize the neighborhoods.

Canada subsidizes TV and film production, so shows can be purchased very inexpensively, compared to the USA. My son has dual citizenship and has worked more in Toronto than in LA!

Torontonians have great public transportation, gvt. healthcare, one year PAID maternity leave, better unemployment insurance. The standard of living is very high there. Many people drive 90 minutes to shop in Buffalo...on the weekends up to half the cars at the malls have Ontario plates. They spend a lot too.

As the financial capital of Canada, wages are high in Toronto too...like NYC.

I forgot to mention - if your grades are high enough, college is practically free too. Canadians don't leave school saddled with debt.

terrier3 · ‎03-10-2010

On 6/17/2014 scatcat said:
On 6/17/2014 Puppy Lips said:
What gets me is the House Hunters. Very young couples with a million dollar budget. Always wonder where they get that much money at such a young age. Oh well, none of my business. Guess I kind of wish I had that much too!

I feel the exact opposite. My DH and I watch House Hunters and are amazed at what you can get for your money in other parts of the country ("we need to move to the South!"). One thing they never bring up is real estate taxes. I wonder if the Canadian house prices are in Canadian dollars??

I have a friend who used to work at HGTV in NYC.

I believe they adjust the prices for American audiences....I know they also do that with measurements...they talk about "feet" and "inches" and Canada is metric.

brii · ‎06-20-2010

I have been watching that show with Chip and Joanna Gaines. I can't remember what it's called.

Anyway, I love some of those houses. They get them for a steal and dump a whole bunch of renovation money into them. They are in Texas...

minkbunny · ‎03-09-2010

On 6/17/2014 brii said:
I have been watching that show with Chip and Joanna Gaines. I can't remember what it's called.

Anyway, I love some of those houses. They get them for a steal and dump a whole bunch of renovation money into them. They are in Texas...

Fixer Upper, love that show as well.

Lynneuk · ‎03-10-2010

It annoys me that they don't mention property taxes on the shows set in the US. That can have a huge impact on your monthly payment.

They filmed some shows here and mentioned how reasonably priced the house were and how you could get a huge old Victorian house for $225,000. But they never once mentioned that the taxes on that house would be $8 or $9,000 a year!

I have a friend who moved to Boston for work. She lived in a suburb of Boston in a house that was $600,000 plus near a train station so they commuted into Boston for work. Then after a few years there they moved back here. They said that it cost them more to live here because of the crazy taxes in New York state even though their house here was half the price!

151949 · ‎03-09-2010

What gets me with all these shows is they only fix up the main public areas of the house - never the bedrooms or basements which - from the condition of the main rooms you know are also hideous. And they never address the mechanics of the home like the furnace /AC the windows/ the roof / the plumbing. It seems to me they really take these poor homeowners for a ride and leave them broke and with a partially done home.

Kachina624 · ‎03-10-2010

On 6/17/2014 terrier3 said:
On 6/17/2014 brii said:
I'm shocked at Canadian home prices too.

Prices in Toronto are almost as expensive as NYC.

Many of the HGTV shows are shot in Toronto. I recognize the neighborhoods.

Canada subsidizes TV and film production, so shows can be purchased very inexpensively, compared to the USA. My son has dual citizenship and has worked more in Toronto than in LA!

Torontonians have great public transportation, gvt. healthcare, one year PAID maternity leave, better unemployment insurance. The standard of living is very high there. Many people drive 90 minutes to shop in Buffalo...on the weekends up to half the cars at the malls have Ontario plates. They spend a lot too.

As the financial capital of Canada, wages are high in Toronto too...like NYC.

I forgot to mention - if your grades are high enough, college is practically free too. Canadians don't leave school saddled with debt.

I vacationed in Alberta last September and was shocked at prices there. Hotels and chain restaurants were about twice what we'd pay in the US. I wondered if they were driven by the multitudes of Japanese tourists who came by the bus load and seemed to have plenty of money to spend. I'm glad I went as it was breathtaking but I'll never go back.

New Mexico☀️Land Of Enchantment

Ibby114 · ‎03-10-2010

On 6/17/2014 happy housewife said:
What gets me with all these shows is they only fix up the main public areas of the house - never the bedrooms or basements which - from the condition of the main rooms you know are also hideous. And they never address the mechanics of the home like the furnace /AC the windows/ the roof / the plumbing. It seems to me they really take these poor homeowners for a ride and leave them broke and with a partially done home.

Love It or List It does definitely- many things are taken off the 'must have list' becasue mechanical problems are discovered during the renovation. On another fixer upper type show recently the homeowner had to redo the plumbing - and lines to the sewage system! The waste was being drained into the ground rather than through pipes! Gross.

wildcat fan · ‎03-23-2010

On 6/17/2014 jewelfool said:
Every time I watch one of these programs based in Canada (which is most of them these days), I say "I sure am glad I don't live there...I would never own a home." By the way HGTV used to be produced right up the road from me in Knoxville, TN....why do we have all these Canadian shows?

ITA! I liked HGTV so much more when it was produced in TN. I think the people who started it in Knoxville should try another home/garden network.