- 2 days ago
House Hunters - Season 269 Episode 9 -
Long Gone from Hong Kong
Long Gone from Hong Kong
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00:01I'm not excited about that price point.
00:04After a decade in Hong Kong,
00:06Michael and Kevin are moving to Raleigh, North Carolina
00:09to be near family.
00:10And the sticker shock is real.
00:12This carpet's gonna have to go.
00:14You're looking at around $12,000.
00:17And size matters, too.
00:19After living in 400 square feet overseas,
00:22Michael wants the biggest place they can afford
00:24so they can get away from each other.
00:26When you wake up in the morning,
00:28you're banging, clanging.
00:30It's so loud.
00:31But Kevin's gotten used to a smaller home.
00:34If people have more space, they just get more crap.
00:37From sticker shock to culture shock,
00:39coming back home isn't easy.
00:41We don't do yard work.
00:42We don't own a pitchfork or whatever people use.
00:45We're not in Hong Kong anymore.
00:58I'm a psychologist and a licensed therapist.
01:10And I work in higher education.
01:12Prior to this year, we were living in Hong Kong.
01:15We lived there for 11 years, actually.
01:17There was opportunity there, particularly in education,
01:20for both of us.
01:21So we loved living in Hong Kong.
01:22I loved being able to travel.
01:24Vietnam, Cambodia.
01:25Thailand.
01:26Thailand.
01:27As much as I enjoy Hong Kong,
01:28there are things when I would come back to visit the U.S.
01:30I missed.
01:31Conveniences.
01:32And then, of course, friends and family.
01:34Say hello.
01:35Hey, welcome.
01:36Hey, Marcel.
01:37Let the dogs loose.
01:38Go ahead.
01:39Thank you all so much for a house sitting for us.
01:41One of the things that influenced our decision to move back to Raleigh
01:45was certainly having my sister, Jen, in the area.
01:47That's where our apartment is right now in North Raleigh area,
01:50relatively close to her, about 10 minutes away.
01:53I love North Raleigh.
01:54You know, I love this neighborhood.
01:56I don't know.
01:57I think Kevin's branching out.
01:58Well, I mean, I think there's some things I kind of want in a house
02:02that I don't know if we can necessarily find.
02:04Like what?
02:05What can't you find in Raleigh?
02:06Well, I really want to get a ranch.
02:08There's not that common in this neighborhood.
02:10I just don't see a lot of houses for sale, for one.
02:13I don't know that you guys are house people.
02:15I would assume you're looking at townhouses.
02:17I mean, when I first left Hong Kong,
02:19I really wanted to get out of the cramped apartment kind of living.
02:24I'm with Jennifer.
02:25I'm leaning towards the townhome.
02:26I'm more of an extrovert,
02:27so I draw energy from being around other people,
02:29and you're slightly more introverted.
02:32How many bedrooms are you looking at?
02:34I prefer three.
02:35Okay.
02:36I'd like a room for our trinkets
02:38and all of the things we got from our travels.
02:40I'm good with two bedrooms.
02:41We don't have that much stuff.
02:43And I really want an upstairs-downstairs.
02:45I want the separation.
02:46I just don't see the need for an S2-story place.
02:49When you wake up in the morning, you're banging and clanging
02:52and moving your blender and this and that.
02:55Like, it's so loud.
02:56And if the kitchen was on a separate floor, I wouldn't hear it.
03:01It's not that loud.
03:02It's a normal blender like most people have in their households.
03:06You know, I've been baking since I got back.
03:08I know! You've been baking a lot!
03:09I've been bringing you some goodies over,
03:11so I'd like to have that.
03:13I couldn't care less about the kitchen.
03:14You know, the kitchen is a place where I go to grab a wine
03:17out of the fridge or something like that, right?
03:19I don't know how you spend so much time there.
03:22Where do you think your food comes from at night?
03:25The meals.
03:26I don't know. The magic food fairies. I don't know.
03:28One thing I'm looking forward to is having a little bit of outdoor space.
03:31So we have our two little fur babies with us.
03:34Marcel's a little mix, kind of poodle terrier.
03:37And then Mocha is from Hong Kong.
03:40She barks in Cantonese.
03:42I mean, who's going to know the grass?
03:44Not me.
03:45Mmm, Hayden. You're my nephew.
03:48Are you guys up for renovating?
03:51Maybe a few small things?
03:53We could customize it and make it our own.
03:55I don't want to move to a place where I have to worry about,
03:58oh my gosh, does this need replaced?
04:00Oh, how old is that?
04:01We are approved for $375,000,
04:04and I feel like we might as well just go for that.
04:08I would rather go closer to, let's say, $300,000.
04:11And that gives us money for travel and ventures.
04:15I just don't know if we're going to find everything for that.
04:17I don't want to rush into something or feel forced, you know?
04:20I really want to take my time.
04:22Now, lease is going to be up.
04:23I think we do have a little bit of pressure,
04:25and we are going to be a little forced,
04:27and you're going to have to be okay with that.
04:28Hmm.
04:29Today, they're just outside Raleigh in Durham,
04:39nicknamed the tastiest town in the South for its food scene.
04:42The house they're seeing is a new build,
04:44priced on the high side at $345,000.
04:48I'm not excited about that price point.
04:51Aren't we going to travel still?
04:52I mean, you know, we have this travel bug or...
04:54No, I mean, I think we can do both.
04:56I think...
04:57Really?
04:58We can't have it all.
04:59I think we can.
05:00There's a lot to do here.
05:02Yes, downtown Durham is bustling,
05:04and apparently there's a great foodie scene.
05:07But it's farther from your sister.
05:10Right, but...
05:11But closer to my office.
05:13It's closer to your office.
05:14Houses are pretty close to each other.
05:17No, I like it.
05:18It's like security.
05:19It's comfort, right?
05:20Okay, it looks like it's right up here.
05:21Okay.
05:22I like the shoe levels.
05:24Oh, I like the color.
05:26Hey, good morning, guys.
05:28Welcome to East Durham.
05:30It is two levels.
05:31I'm so excited.
05:33And it's new construction as well,
05:34so definitely move in, ready, something for you guys.
05:38Come on in.
05:39A little bit of front porch.
05:40It's a huge door.
05:41It is.
05:42Oh, opens a nice flow.
05:43Oh, wow.
05:44It's very open.
05:45So you found the open space I was looking for.
05:47Yes.
05:48Very nice.
05:49We did find that nice open layout.
05:51Brand new.
05:52It has that new feel, that new smell.
05:55I like that a lot, right?
05:56Yeah, and I'm looking at this area like for...
05:58This is obviously our living space, right?
06:00Yeah.
06:01So we can see TV there, couch here.
06:05I'm not so sure about the layout.
06:07I mean...
06:08Because this is a living space, or what is this?
06:10What is that, actually?
06:11Oh, the washer and dryer.
06:13And this one would be a little...
06:15There's a half bath, which is useful.
06:17Look at your open kitchen.
06:19Very nice island.
06:20I like this.
06:21Can do bar stool seating around this.
06:23That's true.
06:24Yeah.
06:25I'm definitely not cut off from everyone.
06:27Right.
06:28If I'm in here cooking, I can see everyone.
06:30When I sort of pictured moving back to America,
06:33this is the type of kitchen that I envisioned.
06:36I mean, it's open, but counter space-wise,
06:39a little minimal as well.
06:40You're ready to put your blender.
06:41Yeah.
06:42Mixer, coffee maker, all those kind of things.
06:45Yeah, we like a lot of liquids in the kitchen,
06:47like coffee makers and sparkling water machines,
06:51and blenders and things like that.
06:53I have a hydration station.
06:55Yeah, it's a nice outdoor deck.
06:58Okay.
06:59Decent sized deck.
07:00Room for a barbecue.
07:02So in terms of the lawn care, very minimal here.
07:05I see, right?
07:06Very minimal.
07:07You guys only have this small portion of the backyard,
07:11and it is also shared with this house behind you as well.
07:15So...
07:16Yeah.
07:17Just need a miniature, like a weed whacker or something like that.
07:20And I'll have to go up and down all throughout my work day.
07:30Okay, this is...
07:31This?
07:32A room?
07:33A bedroom?
07:34This would be considered your office.
07:36Right.
07:37It's considered a bedroom since it's got a closet and a window,
07:41but there's no space in here for a bed.
07:44I feel like I'm in a cubicle.
07:45Cubicle?
07:46Yeah.
07:47It's a very nice cubicle.
07:48What else is up here?
07:49Down this narrow hallway,
07:51and it looks like there's full bath here, so...
07:54Yeah.
07:55What's to go in here?
07:56Is this the primary?
07:58This is the primary with a private balcony as well.
08:02Okay.
08:03Okay.
08:04It's a little bit small for a primary.
08:05There must be a closet somewhere, right?
08:07Yeah, there's no closet in here.
08:08Let's find one.
08:09Oh, there's a closet.
08:10Oh, okay.
08:11Oh, okay.
08:12Okay.
08:13Look.
08:14Surprise.
08:15Yeah.
08:16Okay.
08:17So, okay.
08:18I like this really private from the rest of the upstairs.
08:24So, here's the third room.
08:26Third room.
08:27This looks more like a realistic office to me than the other extra space.
08:32These stairs might be difficult for our dogs.
08:34They might slip.
08:36But I love when you come down and it's just this nice open space.
08:40You would get your second floor.
08:42I get my kitchen.
08:43I don't know how comfortable you are with the price.
08:46I am not comfortable with the price.
08:48I think for the $345 price on the home, you're really getting your money's worth and the value.
08:55Yeah, it is a brand new construction.
08:57Very minimal work out there in terms of lawn care.
09:00I'm not crazy about the location from being so distant from his sister.
09:05So, Amir tries a better location, but the home itself is causing friction.
09:10I would recommend you just use one of the other bathrooms.
09:13Yeah, or you could use earplugs.
09:15Today, Kevin and Michael are seeing a home in Raleigh, North Carolina's capital, not far from Kevin's sister.
09:29It's going to be a very quick drive this morning to the house.
09:32I love that.
09:34But it's actually further from your office.
09:37But it's still within the about 30 minute range.
09:40So, this one is a townhouse.
09:43Neighbors potentially on both sides.
09:46How do you feel about that?
09:47I sort of have memories of our apartment back in Hong Kong where the mysterious coin drops every nightly.
09:56Noisy neighbors.
09:57I like the look of the house at least.
10:00I love it.
10:01The red door.
10:02I mean, I guess originally I had a vision of townhomes being kind of cookie cutter.
10:08I will say this is a smaller community, kind of well-maintained.
10:12Hey, Amir.
10:13Hey, Kevin.
10:14Hey, Michael.
10:15Nice to see you.
10:16All right.
10:17Welcome to your two-story townhome.
10:18It's two-story.
10:19I love that.
10:20Not always what I had in mind, like the neighbors.
10:24You guys also get more for your money as well with a townhome.
10:27It's under $300,000.
10:29I know.
10:30I'm really excited about that.
10:31North Raleigh is where big banks are located.
10:35Plenty of restaurants and bars nearby at a walking distance as well.
10:42Oh, so you immediately, I see the staircase.
10:44I like that.
10:48All right.
10:49Into your kitchen.
10:50It's an open kitchen.
10:52I do see, Amir, like this floor of many colors.
10:55I'm looking at one type of flooring here.
10:58Some tiling here and bar door, the laminate there.
11:02Yeah.
11:03What is that?
11:04I do like the rest of the black and white look, the retro kind of colors.
11:08But see, some of the tiles are cracked.
11:10This is stuff we have to replace.
11:12You're looking at around $4,400 bucks to replace countertops like these and a brand new sink.
11:18I mean, I love the openness and it flows right into this lini area.
11:21I mean, it has like some charm.
11:23I'll say that.
11:24Looks like it flows into a little back deck.
11:27Okay.
11:28Okay.
11:29We could put a little bistro table here and a grill over here and there's plenty of space.
11:33It kind of feels private.
11:34One of the things with an HOA, there is some of the upkeep of the area that we don't have to worry about.
11:39Correct.
11:40Yeah.
11:41The roof and the siding of the home, that's all being taken care of from the HOA.
11:44I love that.
11:45Well, let's see the rest of the home.
11:47Haven't seen the upstairs yet.
11:48All right.
11:49And I got my staircase.
11:50You have your staircase.
11:51This carpet's going to have to go real fast.
11:53Yeah.
11:54This is your primary bedroom.
11:56I feel pretty comfortable.
11:57Our bed would fit in here.
11:58Can a size bed would fit?
11:59Yeah.
12:00I mean, I'm not sure how I feel about the French doors.
12:03I know you're very concerned about noise.
12:06Um, do these French doors sort of block off sound?
12:09I don't know.
12:10I would recommend you just use one of the other bathrooms.
12:12Yeah.
12:13Or you could use earplugs, but I don't think, I think that will end up damaging my ears.
12:18I don't know.
12:19Kevin gets all the latest gadgets, you know, this fancy, uh, toothbrush looks like something
12:25that dentists from the future uses, something like that.
12:27I don't know.
12:28It makes a lot of noise and this vibrating noise.
12:30They're so loud.
12:31It's like being in a salon.
12:32We're not used to having a closet overseas.
12:34We never had a walk in.
12:36I feel like it's sort of update, but not a hundred percent.
12:40Okay.
12:41Another bedroom.
12:42So this would be my office study.
12:45Yeah.
12:46Obviously this is more of the carpet.
12:48Carpeting that's all of upstairs is going to have to be replaced.
12:51Full bath in here.
12:54This could be my bathroom in the mornings.
12:57Yeah.
12:58The stairs are comfortable to walk on.
13:00I think the dogs would be okay with that.
13:02I really do like this place.
13:04I love the neighborhood.
13:05I'm like, the two levels.
13:07I feel like in terms of space-wise, this is like the amount of space we need.
13:11I didn't even notice the third bedroom.
13:13I think that because I wanted that space for trinkets or books, but we can compensate because
13:18we have these built-ins here.
13:19Carpeting would definitely have to be replaced.
13:21Rough estimate now if we have to do upstairs, downstairs in terms of cost for us.
13:26You're looking at around $12,000.
13:29Oh.
13:30My feeling I'd rather pay more, a little more, to have a newer construction.
13:35I'm really hoping that we can find something that's a little more modern, maybe even a ranch.
13:41So Amir finds them a ranch, but Kevin starts to lose the plot.
13:49You know how like a goldfish expands in the bowl?
13:52I feel like if people have more space, they just get more crap.
13:56Goldfish expand?
14:06So you know this is a ranch.
14:08For me, the ranch, it's the opposite of what we've had.
14:11It's just going to look different than all of the small apartments that we lived in in Hong Kong.
14:15You know this neighborhood's a little bit far from your sister's house.
14:19About what, 30 minutes?
14:21We were a 16-hour flight before, so...
14:24I guess you have a point.
14:26Today, Kevin and Michael are in Tupper Place,
14:29a Raleigh neighborhood near universities and city amenities, to see a single-family home.
14:34This house is $330,000.
14:37Okay.
14:38A little more than I'm comfortable with.
14:41Oh, here it is.
14:43I like the blue shutters a lot.
14:44Yeah, it does look, and it looks updated.
14:46Oh, nice.
14:47Hey, guys.
14:48Hi, Amir.
14:49How are you?
14:50Good to see you.
14:51Nice to see you again.
14:52Found me my ranch.
14:53Let's go inside and check it out.
14:54Give it a try.
14:55Nice porch, actually.
14:56Yeah.
14:57Definitely been renovated.
15:02This is the main living area.
15:04What do you guys think?
15:05Size-wise, I think it's fine for us.
15:08I would like maybe some built-in shelving as well.
15:12But I'm already worried about the money.
15:14I don't want to spend too much more.
15:16Yeah.
15:17I would rather have the money to continue our travels.
15:20Because even though we're relocating back to the U.S., we still have these adventures
15:24we want to go on.
15:25We have a king-size bed that will fit here, right?
15:29Yes.
15:30It would make it really tight, and this closet is...
15:34The doors open up, so it kind of takes up some of the room.
15:37It would be better if there were sliding doors.
15:39Oh, yeah.
15:40The bathroom is a little tight, but fully updated.
15:46Alright, we've got the two bedrooms right over here.
15:49I think this would be the study or the office.
15:52I feel like it's enough separation.
15:54Yeah.
15:55I don't think I'll disturb you.
15:56Yeah, I sleep in a little lighter than you.
15:57I don't know.
15:58You're right there, walking around.
16:01I don't know.
16:02That's why I'm really attached to like a second store, second story.
16:07Alright, and here's another bedroom.
16:10Third bedroom.
16:11Yes.
16:12We have basically little to nothing.
16:15We came with very little.
16:17Right.
16:18You guys can always grow into a home.
16:21That's my fear.
16:22Like a goldfish expands in the bowl.
16:24I feel like if people have more space, they just get more crap.
16:29Goldfish expand?
16:30I'll tell you later.
16:31Oh.
16:32Alright.
16:33I do like this kitchen.
16:37It's a nice sink.
16:38It's very deep.
16:40Well, it's a deck.
16:43It's a deck.
16:44Not much to landscape as of the moment.
16:46Really?
16:47As of the moment.
16:48A lot of pine cones.
16:49In theory, I like a backyard, but I'm not thinking about it in practice.
16:53For 10 years in Hong Kong, we don't do yard work.
16:56We don't own a pitchfork or whatever people use.
16:58Yeah.
16:59We don't have stuff like that.
17:01I don't know if people use pitchforks, but...
17:03I think it's time to start getting used to, you know, North Carolina lifestyle, guys.
17:08We're not in Hong Kong anymore.
17:10You're right.
17:11See, this shows you like how little Michael understands about yard work that he thinks
17:17that the first tool he went to was a pitchfork.
17:20Final summary.
17:21What do you think?
17:22This is sort of what I envisioned.
17:23I don't want to have to be running up and down the stairs all day.
17:26But I do like the three bedrooms here.
17:28I just don't know if we need the space.
17:31We don't need that space for the yard.
17:33That's true.
17:34That's true.
17:35I like that everything's done.
17:36I mean, it's not perfect, right?
17:37But, you know, don't let perfect get in the way of good.
17:41But perfect or not, with their lease expiring, they have to make a decision.
17:46That price makes me very uncomfortable, Kevin.
17:57Michael and Kevin are house-sitting for Kevin's sister
18:00and need to make a quick decision on a home
18:02now that they've moved from Hong Kong back to the States.
18:05I'm thinking about the place in Durham.
18:08I really like the modern style, the contemporary look.
18:11For me, the kitchen was the biggest selling point.
18:14Everything modern, everything new, completely open.
18:17It has my third bedroom.
18:19Small but very functional for my books and knick-knacks.
18:22I love it, right?
18:23I liked having that little bit of outdoor area.
18:26Right.
18:27That price makes me very uncomfortable, Kevin.
18:30In the end, we'll be better off having a place that we know, brand new, no issues.
18:36I'm not thrilled about that location.
18:38I mean, it's closer to my office, fine.
18:41But 40 minutes from here, I am very interested in the townhome.
18:46It's got my two levels, a little bit of outdoor deck.
18:50I really like that first floor.
18:52Having the kitchen open, having a large living space.
18:56There's no third bedroom for me.
18:57And I really, really want that space for my books and all of our treasures from overseas and stuff like that, right?
19:04It's not a ranch.
19:05And then biggest thing for me is we don't like the flooring.
19:09Well, it's going to involve some renovations and upfront costs.
19:12We did look at your ranch.
19:14Outside was like kind of nice, right?
19:16Yeah.
19:17It had some good curb appeal, but everything has been renovated at least.
19:20It's not brand new construction, but it's been renovated.
19:23I might be able to not have to have that second level because it's spread out enough.
19:27So I can't hear you maybe fumbling around the kitchen, making your osier quinoa smoothie, whatever you're making in the morning.
19:35That sounds like a bad combination for a smoothie.
19:37But that backyard, what do you think?
19:39There is some breathing room.
19:40I know it is a bigger yard.
19:42It's been the last 10, 11 years in Hong Kong, so we had neighbors all around us.
19:47I think it's peace and serenity.
20:01It's a little, uh, little dragon.
20:03Thailand, I believe.
20:04Yes.
20:05We ended up going to the townhouse in North Raleigh, which was my favorite choice, my top contender.
20:09It's a location that we both wanted, so close to your sister.
20:15I'm very excited.
20:16I have gotten used to being able to just run by her place real quick and things like that that I haven't been able to do in years.
20:23It has the layout I want, particularly on the first floor.
20:26The kitchen for me is great.
20:28It's ready.
20:29And I also feel like it is a little more space, even though I do have neighbors, this is not an apartment.
20:33It's a frog.
20:35Yeah.
20:36What's that noise that frogs make?
20:38A ribbit.
20:39A ribbit?
20:40Yeah.
20:41Oh.
20:42We're hoping to move in in the next week or so.
20:43We brought the dogs, because we are fairly close, we've brought them by to sort of get them acclimated to their new home.
20:49Most importantly, we could see them run up and down the stairs.
20:52They know they can do that.
20:53First wine in the new, the new home.
20:56Yeah.
20:57The house was listed for $289.
20:58We ended up offering $289 and they accepted it and threw in some closing costs, so I was over the moon about that.
21:04This section would work really well in this area, but I think we're spending all of our funds on the flooring.
21:10I don't think we should get any new furniture right now.
21:12We are getting new hardwoods downstairs, we're getting all new carpets upstairs, and we're putting a little accent on the fireplace.
21:20Do you want to have like a housewarming party?
21:22I definitely want to have a housewarming party.
21:24Yeah, maybe like 10 people or something like that.
21:26Yeah.
21:27Maybe they'll bring us some gifts.
21:28Okay, sounds good.
21:29We'll bring you back.
21:30I'm back with you guys.
21:31I can see you next time.
21:31Yeah, look great.
21:32Give me some money and bring you some gifts.
21:36Nice.
21:49We'll bring you some gifts.
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