- 15 hours ago
House Hunters - Season 267 Episode 3 -
To Rent and Buy in Los Angeles
To Rent and Buy in Los Angeles
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FunTranscript
00:00Michael and DJ are thrilled to be buying their first home in Los Angeles.
00:05I'll be honest, I kind of love it.
00:08But cost is a huge factor, since even tiny bungalows can be exceptionally pricey.
00:15It's like it's unbelievable how much this will cost.
00:18We're basically paying a million dollars.
00:20Will they tolerate a bunch of quirks to get a deal?
00:23The floors feel a little not hardwood.
00:26It's not the largest primary.
00:28It's not.
00:30Kind of an odd little layout.
00:32I don't love it.
00:34Or will they break the bank to go big?
00:36Wow.
00:37Right?
00:37This is huge.
00:39Something I see is the island right away.
00:40Yes.
00:41Hi, that ride from the airport was unbelievable.
01:00I'm DJ.
01:02I work in HR.
01:03I'm Michael.
01:04I'm a freelance television producer.
01:06We both grew up in the suburbs of Chicago.
01:09We met 11 years ago.
01:11Then we moved to the Los Angeles area.
01:13We have a one bedroom plus a den for our apartment.
01:16We're exploding.
01:17Like, we need more room.
01:19We started looking at homes recently.
01:22Buying a house puts us on a path to have children.
01:25Yeah, we can't have kids in this apartment.
01:27There's no way.
01:28I travel for work, but I also work remotely in this apartment.
01:32Do you have any more work left to do today?
01:34Are you done?
01:34No, I think I'm done for the day.
01:36Having, you know, a door to separate is going to be really important for us.
01:41We need a single family home.
01:43We can get a craftsman house.
01:44Like, it's going to feel a little like home from the Chicago suburbs, but also very LA at
01:49the same time.
01:51Natural wood features, squares, triangles.
01:54I just want to vibe with that a little bit.
01:56I would love a Spanish style.
01:59I love the terracotta.
02:00I love the tile.
02:01I like how it's different than the houses that we grew up in.
02:04Where are you thinking?
02:05I think we can stay within 15, 20 minutes of here, just so that we can get access to
02:10things we need.
02:11We got to be within an hour from the airport.
02:13Because I travel for work so much, access to an airport is very important.
02:18Currently, based on time of day, we're anywhere from a half hour, 45 minutes from LAX, which
02:23is fantastic.
02:24It also has to be a tall house.
02:26Like, I cannot deal with low ceilings.
02:28I'm 6X.
02:29We got to think about this.
02:30Like, I got to feel comfortable.
02:32I'd prefer it to be move-in ready.
02:33I just want to, you know, put our stamp on something creatively.
02:37I think it would actually be pretty fun getting a little messy, a little dirty, and having
02:41a finished product that, you know, we worked on together.
02:45That sounds like a nightmare.
02:46I would love a 2-2 private office for me.
02:52I'm on video interviews.
02:54I'm on calls every day.
02:55So it's important to have a dedicated office space where I can close a door.
02:59We definitely need three bedrooms, though.
03:00Like, you need your own space.
03:02But I also need my space.
03:04In the future, one of those rooms can be a kid's room.
03:07I quilt.
03:08It's a hobby that can kind of explode in your house.
03:10So I need my own space.
03:12We need room.
03:12We need room for other people.
03:13We need room to entertain.
03:15Having a large kitchen.
03:17We want outdoor space for future kids, dog.
03:20I know you want a second bathroom.
03:21I just, I think that puts us out of the price range of uncomfortable spending.
03:25Around, like, $825.
03:27I think we can be closer to that million dollar mark.
03:30It is so much money.
03:31Compared to the rest of the country, the price of living here, it's just so expensive.
03:35And I always kind of joke, like, I pay a 20% happiness tax.
03:39Happiness tax?
03:40It is a real thing.
03:41It's a real thing.
03:41I absolutely love living here.
03:43I just want to be smart on how much we're spending initially.
03:47Because I just don't want everything to go into the house.
03:54I do like this neighborhood.
03:56It is cute.
03:57It's hilly.
03:58Yep.
03:58It reminds me of where we live now.
04:00I don't love that it's a White House.
04:01Just because it's just so bland.
04:02And, like, I want color.
04:03It's not necessarily a craftsman, but, like, it is charming, which I like.
04:08Just feels, like, it's unbelievable how much, like, this will cost.
04:13$925, he said.
04:14$925.
04:15And we're basically paying a million dollars.
04:17It is a 3-2 and 1,100 square feet.
04:19That's pretty significant.
04:20Lots of green space.
04:21Oh, my God.
04:21This hill.
04:22Welcome to Los Angeles.
04:23Hold on.
04:23Living on a hill.
04:26I'm flooring it.
04:27I hope you know.
04:27Okay, this is cute.
04:34I like this.
04:35Hi, guys.
04:35Hey, how's it going?
04:36How are you doing?
04:37This property is actually a 1911 bungalow.
04:40Wow.
04:40Okay.
04:41I've never, like, lived on a slanted, like, sidewalk before, which is kind of interesting.
04:46Living on a hill?
04:46Living on a hill, which I love.
04:48I like the red door.
04:49Yeah, it's cute.
04:50I know.
04:50I don't know how I feel about, like, the wood and the black together.
04:54All things you can change.
04:55And I also noticed there wasn't a garage.
04:57There's not a garage, but there is a really, really long driveway.
05:00Right now, where a lot of other parts of the country are experiencing a ton of inventory
05:04and some price decreases, Los Angeles is a different beast.
05:07Like, we are seeing multiple offers on properties still.
05:10There's a ton of pent-up buyer demand that want houses here in L.A.
05:15All of the areas like Los Feliz are getting so expensive that it's driving people to further
05:20out because it's a little bit more affordable here.
05:22I mean, the floors feel a little not hardwood.
05:26You can always switch out flooring.
05:28Flooring is pretty easy to do.
05:29It just takes a little time and money.
05:31And I don't really like the aesthetic of the tile.
05:33It's like a marble.
05:34I don't know.
05:35I really like the archway.
05:37It lends to the Spanish style.
05:39Yeah, it is, like, slightly uneven on that side.
05:42It really has the two.
05:44I love it.
05:45This is your living room.
05:46Ooh.
05:47You okay with the ceiling height?
05:48Yeah.
05:49I like the blue.
05:50Feels very kind of calming.
05:52Kind of an odd little layout.
05:55I don't love it.
05:56I'll be honest with you.
05:57I think it's kind of for someone who cooks a lot, for people who entertain a lot.
06:00It's not a lot of room.
06:02Well, there's no storage.
06:03This is less storage than we currently have at our apartment.
06:05Yeah, no, you're absolutely right.
06:06And we need more.
06:06Where would we put our kitchen table, even?
06:09Because if you put it here, then it just feels awkward.
06:12Well, there's also, like, islands.
06:14You've seen those big islands where you put your stools around.
06:16That makes sense.
06:17Don't like a lot of the finishes in the house.
06:19I really don't like the kitchen.
06:20It's a one wall of kitchen and a wall of nothing else.
06:23There's a lot I want to change.
06:25If we're spending this much money, there really shouldn't be any problems with the house at all.
06:29This is the first of the three bedrooms.
06:33It's not huge.
06:35I think it would make a great office.
06:36Yeah, it's bigger than the den right now.
06:39I know, and it would be a door that I could close.
06:41Cool.
06:41All right, let's go over to the second bedroom here.
06:44Wow.
06:44This is huge.
06:46Way bigger.
06:46This is so big.
06:47Okay, this is a ton of space.
06:49I see this as a craft room for you.
06:52Yeah, I mean, I definitely could lay out my quilts on the ground and really kind of piece together what I need.
06:57And in a few years, this could be a perfect space to raise a little child.
07:01Yeah.
07:02And until then, we can kind of, you know, multi-use this room as, like, a guest room and, you know, get a trundle bed.
07:08I mean, I love the size of this.
07:10This is pretty good.
07:10This is a huge room.
07:12This is one of your bathrooms here.
07:13It's all been renovated.
07:14Oh, wow.
07:16I mean, this is unbelievable.
07:19It's small.
07:19It's small, but it's a second bathroom, and it looks great.
07:23This is fantastic.
07:24This is going to be where your guests are going to be, so this is not your primary bathroom.
07:26Yeah.
07:27All right, so if we go...
07:28I like the cubby.
07:30Yeah, this is cute.
07:30This feels great.
07:31That's great.
07:31So here's your primary.
07:33Is this smaller than that other bedroom?
07:35It feels smaller.
07:35It feels smaller.
07:36I actually don't like that.
07:37I wish this bedroom...
07:38You can't swap them, but I wish you could.
07:40We don't hang out in a room anyway.
07:42Sure.
07:43Right now, I just hang out in my room to work because I need space.
07:46Sure.
07:46If I have that other room, then I don't need to work in the bedroom.
07:49It does have an en suite bathroom.
07:50I mean...
07:51Yes.
07:52It's a true primary, which is great.
07:53Oh, my God.
07:54This is so much bigger than that shower.
07:55I mean, the shower bed actually fit you.
07:57Yay.
07:59Now, this is a 4,000 square foot lot.
08:03I love this.
08:03What is this?
08:04This is great.
08:05Covered patio.
08:06Oh, wow.
08:06That is a ton of space back here.
08:08That's awesome.
08:08There's room for dogs.
08:10This is also great for a party, for entertaining.
08:12When we do have kids eventually, like, this...
08:14I can see us growing and expanding our family.
08:18Absolutely.
08:19I think it has a lot of great qualities.
08:22I like the second bathroom.
08:24I love that patio out there.
08:25That little part of it is super adorable.
08:27Absolutely.
08:28I think it's charming.
08:29It kind of has, like, a good L.A. feel to it.
08:31The biggest contention for me, I think, is honestly the kitchen and stuff.
08:36I don't love the kitchen.
08:37Less storage space.
08:39Less countertop space, even.
08:40The finishes aren't my favorites, cosmetically.
08:43There's definitely some things that you guys could do and upgrade while you live in the
08:47property, too.
08:47Absolutely.
08:48I just wish it was slightly less money.
08:52So their agent comes through with a less expensive place and a bigger kitchen.
08:56But there are trade-offs.
08:58I guess in L.A., it's garage or second bathroom.
09:01Like, you kind of have to pick.
09:05I like that we're on a little bit of a hill.
09:12Like, you can see, you know, the ballpark.
09:15Today, DJ and Michael are seeing a place in trendy Cypress Park, just 10 minutes from their
09:20current place.
09:21The price is, you know, still outrageous, but it's better than, you know, other homes around
09:27here in the area.
09:28There's some really nice Spanish-style elements to it, some really nice tile work.
09:32It is a 2-2.
09:34It's small.
09:34I think for this house, it is more about location.
09:38This is still, you know, 10 minutes from our gym.
09:41It's an extra five minutes from, like, a few of our best friends.
09:44So I'm not too, you know, concerned about, you know, a big lifestyle change.
09:56Hi, how are you?
09:57How's it going?
09:58Good.
09:58How are you?
09:59Good, good.
10:00I want to show you something a little bit closer to where you guys currently live.
10:02Awesome.
10:03This is a 1922 built home.
10:07It's been fully renovated.
10:08I noticed the Spanish tile.
10:10I really like the columns.
10:11This portrait is really cute.
10:13I like the details.
10:14I didn't notice a garage.
10:15There's not a garage.
10:16Okay, okay.
10:17But it does have a big enough lot that you could possibly build something or expand the
10:20property, too.
10:21Okay.
10:22The door is really cool.
10:24I really like the floors.
10:25It feels like hardwood, which is nice.
10:27Definitely upgrade from carpet.
10:28I love the wooden doors throughout the house.
10:31Definitely getting some natural vibes, even in the shelves.
10:33The height of the ceilings is great, and I don't feel like I'll hit my head on the doorway.
10:37It's just a small space.
10:39I can't see almost any of our furniture fitting in here.
10:42We'd have to kind of just buy everything new if we come here.
10:45Yeah.
10:45Which I know you would love.
10:46Yeah, always.
10:47You do have this nice peninsula here.
10:49This is great for entertainment purposes.
10:51You can see out towards the living area.
10:53And it's a beautiful kitchen.
10:56It's got a ton of cabinet space.
10:58We want to be able to spread out and have our own spaces, which you're going to get here
11:03in this two-bedroom.
11:04I don't know if I will.
11:05There's no third spot for me.
11:07But I can see us cooking in here and not hitting each other.
11:09Mm-hmm.
11:10That's great.
11:11I don't want to be in a galley kitchen for the rest of my life.
11:13Here's your primary.
11:14It's not the largest primary.
11:16It's not.
11:17This is really small.
11:18Can it even fit like a king-size bed?
11:20This feels like a full.
11:21I think it would be very tight to put a king in here, but it's possible.
11:25You also do have an ensuite bathroom here.
11:27I love the details.
11:28I like the window.
11:29The tile work looks really great.
11:31It's really good.
11:32And it's a really good size.
11:33Yeah, I agree.
11:34Nice big shower.
11:36You wanted a second bathroom there.
11:38It's a huge amount of space.
11:40You have at least one tub in your house for a good resale value.
11:43Yeah, it looks deep, too, which is nice.
11:44It does.
11:45It looks really good.
11:46I'm excited.
11:47One more bedroom here to take a look at.
11:49Mm-hmm.
11:50I think this works great as an office.
11:52I don't have a dedicated workspace.
11:53I'd be sewing on, what, the peninsula?
11:56And so I have to clean it every time.
11:58That's going to be really annoying.
11:59Let me show you the yard real quick.
12:01Cool.
12:01Now, there's no access from the house to the backyard, so you have to go around the woods.
12:05Oh, yeah, great.
12:06Something that I would probably add, maybe a French door to the backyard.
12:11It's a lot of property.
12:13I guess in L.A., it's garage or second bathroom.
12:15I'm like, you kind of have to pick, right?
12:17I'm always for the second bathroom.
12:18I do like that there's a nice patch of grass.
12:22Ooh, I do like the lemon tree.
12:23Being fully fenced in, I could definitely see us having a dog here.
12:27If you wanted to expand this house, this is where you would do it.
12:30You'd have a little bit more space here.
12:31You could add on, probably looking at $75,000.
12:34Great.
12:35Ooh, definitely see the potential in expanding here.
12:38I hear you.
12:39I just feel like we'd have to put more money into this house that's already, quote, move-in ready.
12:43But it will add value because it's adding living square footage to your property.
12:48I like it.
12:49It's move-in ready.
12:51I love the location.
12:52For the price and being move-in ready, it works for me.
12:55I don't feel like there's any space for me.
12:57There's not even a garage I can work out of.
12:59If we do want kids, you know, we're going to need space to put them in, so we'd have to add on.
13:03So their agent manages to find a larger home to show them.
13:07There's just one issue.
13:09This is far from where we are.
13:11If we're going to, you know, try to maintain our lives, I don't know if we can do that.
13:24This is far from where we are.
13:27If we're going to, you know, try to maintain our lives at this point, like, we, I don't know if we can do that with being this far.
13:35Like, it's going to be an incredible change.
13:37The house DJ and Michael are seeing today is in an up-and-coming neighborhood in South L.A., 40 minutes from Los Feliz.
13:45But it is closer to the airport.
13:47It's also 1,700 square feet, which is huge.
13:50I don't love that it's a lot of money, but I do like that it's more house.
13:56So at least it feels like there's more value in it.
13:59Oh, actually, that's a really cute color.
14:05How are you doing?
14:06I'm good.
14:07This looks incredible.
14:08I can see myself decorating for the holidays.
14:10I wanted to show you a Craftsman.
14:12This one is built in 1922.
14:14It's one of the best values we've seen so far in terms of price for square foot.
14:18Cool.
14:18So this is really exciting, and I know that this is not the exact location that you guys are wanting.
14:23No.
14:24No.
14:24There's a lot that's changing in this neighborhood.
14:26We'd be giving up a lot of our current lifestyle to move to this side of town, but I love that this is a Craftsman.
14:31Ready to take a look?
14:32Yeah, let's do it.
14:33Let's go.
14:35Okay, wow.
14:36Right?
14:37This is huge.
14:38Yeah.
14:39Feels like a Craftsman house already.
14:41I love this fireplace.
14:43I love the details of it, the tile work on the bottom and the woodwork right here on the sides.
14:47And built-ins, like, I love built-ins.
14:50Kind of love that it's open.
14:52And then a huge open kitchen, which I love.
14:55I don't love the open space.
14:57I would like a little bit more, you know, design elements, a little bit more of a different architecture.
15:03But something I see is the island right away.
15:05Yes.
15:06I love the island.
15:07I mean, it's huge, it's big, it's nice and long, which is great.
15:11There's a ton of workspace.
15:12Yeah, this kitchen is actually really great for entertaining.
15:15Fully renovated.
15:16You also have a half bath here, which is nice to have just one extra half bath.
15:21Great.
15:22And I'm going to take you to the primary.
15:23Okay.
15:24Because I think you're going to love this.
15:25Wow.
15:26This is, like, better than our apartment, it feels like.
15:28Yeah, absolutely.
15:29And an ensuite bathroom.
15:31Yep.
15:31You have double sinks and a shower tub combo there.
15:35Oh, wow.
15:35Oh, this is fantastic.
15:37Yeah.
15:37This is perfect.
15:38Nice and big.
15:38I don't love the barn door.
15:41I think it's an odd element on a bathroom.
15:44But you can always replace that with a regular door if you want.
15:46And the one cool feature about this is it does have French doors going out to the backyard.
15:50Oh, wow.
15:51This is much bigger than I thought it would be.
15:53Yes.
15:54This is very pretty.
15:55You do have a lot of space that you can play with.
15:57You also have this one-car garage here.
15:59Oh, wow.
16:00They finished this out, you know, with the flooring here.
16:03Oh, cool.
16:03Great space for you.
16:05I mean, we talk about, you know, future family, having the kids inside, having your separate
16:09space outside.
16:10Yeah.
16:11I could definitely see that.
16:12This would be great, especially because the kids would take over one of the bedrooms.
16:16All right.
16:16So let's go back in.
16:17I'll show you the other two rooms.
16:21Here's your front bedroom.
16:23Okay.
16:23The windows are right off of the front porch.
16:27Maybe an office would be better.
16:29So you have double sinks and a tub in here as well.
16:33I mean, it's not long, but it's high.
16:35And I feel like I could actually kind of fit in this, which is great.
16:38Mm-hmm.
16:40And here is your third bedroom.
16:42Plenty of space for your guests or another office in here.
16:46And I could definitely see this as a kid's room eventually.
16:48Mm-hmm.
16:49I'll be honest.
16:50I kind of love it.
16:51Like, I really do love that it has all the details.
16:55The size is great.
16:56The bedroom count is great.
16:57Gives you your second bathroom and a half at that.
17:00I just, the location is a tough sell, but I really kind of love it.
17:06Even though it's closer to an airport, I, you know, don't know this neighborhood very
17:09well.
17:10And I just, you know, it's not my style.
17:13But I understand why you love it.
17:14I know.
17:15I know.
17:15Just let me win.
17:16Give me this way.
17:17I don't know how to make a decision right now.
17:26First-time buyers, DJ and Michael, need to decide whether style, size, or location matters
17:32most to them.
17:33The California bungalow.
17:35It's not too far from Los Feliz.
17:36I do like the bungalow.
17:38Wish there was a little more color overall, but that red door, you know, was a great touch.
17:42And that front porch was super cute.
17:44You get your own space with your office.
17:45I have my own space for a quilting room.
17:48Really did love that pergola in the backyard.
17:50They had the three bedrooms and the two bathrooms.
17:53There was a lot of storage space there.
17:55And that's one of the things that we've been talking about is so important.
17:58Yeah.
17:58No kitchen cabinets at all.
18:00Can't believe I'm saying this, but I do kind of think the two bedroom is an option for us.
18:06I have to say, I really enjoy it.
18:07I like the style.
18:08I like the look of it.
18:10I liked the Spanish style tile work in the front.
18:13I liked the porch.
18:14That peninsula in the kitchen was pretty spectacular.
18:17I did love how much cabinet storage space was in the kitchen as well.
18:21Where are the kids going to go when we have kids in five years?
18:23There's enough property where we could add other parts of the house if needed in the future.
18:28I have to say the neighborhood was also a really good plus.
18:30It's not far away from anything that we currently do.
18:33We'd basically be in our own backyard.
18:35The neighborhood's a big plus for me, too.
18:37I don't feel like our lives will change too much.
18:39We can still go to the gym over there.
18:41I can still get to yoga.
18:42The entire property is fenced in.
18:44We could get a dog right away.
18:45But I think it's a really good opportunity in a great area to buy our first house.
18:50Well, you know my favorite house is the Craftsman.
18:52I absolutely loved that house.
18:55It was humongous.
18:56That kitchen, the island.
18:58There are three bathrooms.
19:00That's absolutely incredible.
19:01And, you know, three bedrooms.
19:03One of the big things for me is obviously location.
19:06With traffic, it's like almost an hour away from where we currently live.
19:10It's away from our current lifestyle, our friends.
19:13But for the size of that house, for the size of the lot, and getting a garage, I just feel
19:18like we can't beat it in Los Angeles.
19:20I think we really just need to, you know, make a choice and make it soon.
19:24Oh, wow.
19:37Maybe your next quilting project could be something for us, for our new home.
19:40I want to.
19:41That would be really cool.
19:41We went with the California Bungalow.
19:44It marries both of our styles.
19:46It has a great backyard, great size for us.
19:49We also had outdoor space, and we absolutely love this neighborhood.
19:53The house was for sale at $925,000.
19:57When we went to put in an offer, there were actually two others.
20:01We went over at $930,000.
20:03The offer was accepted in less than 24 hours.
20:06Having the amount of space that we have, separate rooms, that's incredible.
20:10I haven't had my own space in a long time, so I'm so pumped to have my own room that I
20:17can lay projects out and close the door.
20:19What I ended up loving about this house is the unique features, like the red door, the
20:24archways throughout the home, and the outside is absolutely unbelievable.
20:29Our next goal, of course, is to get a dog.
20:31It's the one thing we couldn't do in our former apartment, and I think we're both really
20:34looking forward to it.
20:35100%.
20:36I'm sentimental at this table.
20:37It's our first, like, big purchase together.
20:39I can repurpose it, put it in my room.
20:41There's a lot of projects that we want to do.
20:43We definitely want to get rid of that kitchen.
20:44I mean, we are over how small it is.
20:46It doesn't have enough room.
20:47We're adding an island in the next couple days.
20:50We would like to replace the floors eventually.
20:53For the island, I want to keep it blue, like, kind of similar with the new furniture that
20:56we purchased.
20:57We lived in our former apartment for almost a decade, which is a very long time to live
21:03in one place.
21:04Now that we're here, this truly feels like home.
21:07What I see next is not only children, but in the next 10 years, you know, taking this
21:11house and taking it to the next level, whatever that might look like.
21:14I'm really looking forward to that.
21:15We were able to do something that not many people are able to do, especially in Los Angeles.
21:20You know, we are able to be homeowners, and it feels awesome.
21:23We really lucked out with this, didn't we?
21:24You did.
21:25We did.
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