I'm not sure about elsewhere in the world, but daytime TV in the UK is full of programmes where people want to move house to somewhere a little nicer or chilled - whether it's to escape the rat race, bring up kids outside of a city, to retire, whatever. They have the strangest "contestants" though, like (and I'm pulling these from my arse but I doubt they're far from the truth) meeting Tarquin, 44, a part time artist; and Helena, 49, who volunteers at the local farmers market.
Yeah, same thing with House Hunters in the US. Those made really good memes. "Stacy, 23, who is a professional whistler, and her husband, Joe, 25, a part time stick weigher, are looking for a more relaxed pace and a smaller, cozier home. Their budget is 7 million, and they're looking for no less than 3,000 sq meters"
That, or having bought their first property long enough ago, and in the right place, that it's appreciated massively more than the place in the country that they've got their eye on. The property ladder is, possibly was, a thing.
Still is, at least to an extent. Bought a house 10 years ago for $110k, and while I’ve paid down about $30k of that between my modest down payment and 10 years of mortgage payments, the house has appreciated ~2x, meaning that I could potentially bring a $100k down payment to a new property. Even with everything else appreciating in the meantime, that makes viable many more options than I would have had if those mortgage payments had been rent checks.
My (half serious) conclusion is the contestants like you describe are either the no-I'm-not-wealthy class of idiots that have simply come from money and don't realise that's not the norm, or they're drug dealers that found a skilled accountant.
Yeap, same thing with "find my dream house" shows in America. I think the major difference is that instead of the people being in their 40s, it's usually people in their 20's. The source of the funding is ultimately the same, rich parents. The likely difference is between trust fund kids in the US and just people whose parents have finally taken their much awaited dirt naps in the UK.
I think rich parents are basically a prerequisite to owning a home for anyone under 40 nowadays. I'm one of the only people in my friend group of people in their late 30s who owns a home, and that was due to what I consider a minor miracle.
I was lucky and bought an abandoned house from the bank for 30k after the last recession, and that was only possible because I got a loan I probably shouldn't have qualified for through USAA. So, still a bit of nepotism, but because my dad was in the service, not because he was wealthy.
Yeah that's the House Hunters trope. It's in the US too on HGTV.
Lisa is a 25 year old retired yoga instructor and Drew is a 28 year old brick layer who does crack in the alley behind his apartment. They are looking to upgrade into a home in the suburbs because Lisa is expecting any day now! Their budget is 3.5 million. Can they find a home?
Every single episode of those shows features a couple that has already purchased a house, and they pretend to give them two other choices to "pick" between.
Especially noticeable when they find a fake option that's a better fit for their wants/needs than the one they actually chose and the same price or cheaper.
I'm not sure about elsewhere in the world, but daytime TV in the UK is full of programmes where people want to move house to somewhere a little nicer or chilled - whether it's to escape the rat race, bring up kids outside of a city, to retire, whatever. They have the strangest "contestants" though, like (and I'm pulling these from my arse but I doubt they're far from the truth) meeting Tarquin, 44, a part time artist; and Helena, 49, who volunteers at the local farmers market.
"Their budget is 1.2 million pounds"
what the actual fuck
Yeah, same thing with House Hunters in the US. Those made really good memes. "Stacy, 23, who is a professional whistler, and her husband, Joe, 25, a part time stick weigher, are looking for a more relaxed pace and a smaller, cozier home. Their budget is 7 million, and they're looking for no less than 3,000 sq meters"
The fake jobs are euphemisms for having a trust fund.
That, or having bought their first property long enough ago, and in the right place, that it's appreciated massively more than the place in the country that they've got their eye on. The property ladder is, possibly was, a thing.
Still is, at least to an extent. Bought a house 10 years ago for $110k, and while I’ve paid down about $30k of that between my modest down payment and 10 years of mortgage payments, the house has appreciated ~2x, meaning that I could potentially bring a $100k down payment to a new property. Even with everything else appreciating in the meantime, that makes viable many more options than I would have had if those mortgage payments had been rent checks.
My (half serious) conclusion is the contestants like you describe are either the no-I'm-not-wealthy class of idiots that have simply come from money and don't realise that's not the norm, or they're drug dealers that found a skilled accountant.
Yeap, same thing with "find my dream house" shows in America. I think the major difference is that instead of the people being in their 40s, it's usually people in their 20's. The source of the funding is ultimately the same, rich parents. The likely difference is between trust fund kids in the US and just people whose parents have finally taken their much awaited dirt naps in the UK.
I think rich parents are basically a prerequisite to owning a home for anyone under 40 nowadays. I'm one of the only people in my friend group of people in their late 30s who owns a home, and that was due to what I consider a minor miracle.
I was lucky and bought an abandoned house from the bank for 30k after the last recession, and that was only possible because I got a loan I probably shouldn't have qualified for through USAA. So, still a bit of nepotism, but because my dad was in the service, not because he was wealthy.
Yeah that's the House Hunters trope. It's in the US too on HGTV.
Lisa is a 25 year old retired yoga instructor and Drew is a 28 year old brick layer who does crack in the alley behind his apartment. They are looking to upgrade into a home in the suburbs because Lisa is expecting any day now! Their budget is 3.5 million. Can they find a home?
oh no, they have a bunch of requirements and accidentally spent double their budget on the house but are still just fine somehow
Every single episode of those shows features a couple that has already purchased a house, and they pretend to give them two other choices to "pick" between.
Especially noticeable when they find a fake option that's a better fit for their wants/needs than the one they actually chose and the same price or cheaper.
It’s absurd, but then again; The post above this one in my feed was how the “starter home” price in 200 different us cities is now $1 million.