House Hunters September 28, 2021 "Going Back Home to Jersey"

bit the white kitchen that you were looking for this is a great kitchen john now that single mom betsy can work from anywhere she and her son miles have decided to move from colorado to new jersey we're loud northeast people new jersey is who we are since he loves music she wants to give him his dream basement i'm thinking you might be able to fit your studio back there it's huge right but after working hard to get where she is she's not going to compromise with him or her agent on what she wants big walk-in check this out this is not enough closet space at all it's a lot of space it's like my number one thing it's like orange downstairs was good upstairs you're not killing it [Music] hold i'm sorry sarah hold on miles just got home from school i lead a sales and marketing team at a pharmaceutical company and i'm a single mom so this you're looking at our family we have a great relationship i think most of the time we're we're like friends so wow i'm in charge yeah yeah all right let me finish up this call um and then we can start making dinner all right compared to other teenagers i think there's parts of miles that he functions like a 30 year old you know i travel a lot for work he manages to have the house spotless when i come home but then he's also like a normal teenager because he doesn't do his homework and his room's messy my mom is extremely hard-working but she also is a little bit ocd likes things a certain way but she's the most frugal woman i know she likes to save money on everything even though she has it i have it now i didn't have it then [Music] growing up we didn't have money i remember coming home from school and trying to grab the electric shutoff notices off the door before our friends saw them it's the reason why i've always worked really hard i don't want that for miles be honest with me how are you feeling about leaving boulder i'm actually kind of ready to go my mom and i have lived in a lot of different places colorado two separate times new jersey two separate times all for my job and then texas we've lived all over but jersey feels the most like home to us we have a ton of family in the area lots of friends it's a little bit too slow here and i think we want more diversity i recently got a job promotion and i now have the ability to be able to live anywhere in the country i want we kind of sat down and talked about it and we decided let's go back mom there's a sticker in there oh my range is somewhere between five hundred thousand and nine hundred thousand dollars i mean of course i don't want to go to the top end if i don't have to but i'm comfortable spending up to 900 and moving into something i have to do no work on or getting something sort of at the lower end and putting some money into it i definitely want to be in like suburbs neighborhood area you know i'm always outside always hanging out with friends so as long as it's walkable i love to be in the heart of things i love broadway i love just everything about a big city i need to feel like i am in somewhat of a city i love brick houses with shutters i mean the more cities sort of feel the better i definitely like a more neighborhood feel and i think houses that are like that are more traditional the one thing i do want definitely top of the list is a basement i want room for a studio recently i've been more into music i've been writing music i can have my own studio and then also just my own space for when i'm there i need a closet a big closet i need like a room that other people would call a bedroom but i will call a closet i think having a space where i can close the door you don't have to listen to all my video calls i know you're going to want a kitchen so would like yeah i think we need a kitchen do you know what i mean yeah i mean i obviously want everything to be as white and clean as possible open to the living room i really like having outdoor space a little backyard for playing football with friends i am not doing yard work i would be happy with a slab of concrete that i could sit to have a glass of wine after a long day porch why do we need a porch just sit outside you know drink some coffee next thing i know you'll be asking me to buy rocking chairs jersey really speaks to me i have a lot of friends there i think moving back to new jersey is moving back to be who we are we're loud northeast people we just feel at home there i love this area miles this is like exactly how i want to be living walkable to everything it is at the top end of the price range it's at 8.99 although that's what you have to pay to be you know right in the heart of everything like i love princeton but being in the city is not my favorite this isn't really a neighborhood there's no front yards i really like playing football with friends just having space two black shutters yeah not much of a porch but i don't want a porch so it's perfect for me hey john hey how are you guys good happy to be in princeton yeah the home i'm showing betsy and miles today is a fully renovated house this house is at the top end of what betsy wanted to spend but princeton is exactly where she wanted to be so i thought this was a great opportunity to show her for perspective what she can get at that higher price point and how much home comes with it i already love it open concept yes this has all just been renovated okay i can tell opens into the kitchen the white kitchen that you were looking for this is a great kitchen john i know why john brought us here the bright open concept the hardwood floors and the kitchen oh my gosh this is a great open concept living space and check out this backyard it's a little more grass than i wanted it's only on a tenth of an acre it doesn't get much smaller than this well you could have no yard then i'd be happy it's not that big i mean i like it it's nice we're looking for apartments now [Music] so on the second floor you've got two bedrooms a guest bath so this is the main bedroom this is the main bedroom yup they've just renovated the bathroom this is a great bathroom remember older homes smaller bedrooms closets still a walk-in this doesn't even feel like a closet i know i walked into it so technically it is a walk-in closet but this is not main bedroom betsy closet i don't know well let's take a peek upstairs let's see uh what i think might be miles's separate living space does that mean we're not gonna put miles in the basement they just have much older style basements here so you're not gonna have the size you'd like for miles this is cool some very low ceilings so we were thinking about this for miles of space yeah what do you think i like it but i couldn't really have a studio up here i mean no absolutely not this is right above what would be my bedroom right yes i play music very loud that wouldn't be the best yeah i mean part of what we're looking for is the separation of like having a floor in between us so that we don't have to like hear each other so even though this gives him his own space there's no separation yeah unfortunately in these older homes this was built in 1920 you just don't see the type of basement that i think you guys are expecting okay yeah miles you're gonna have to duck oh okay this is creepy you might be able to utilize this as more of a studio i know it's tough with the lower ceiling height but this would be probably the only place that i could see it happening how do you feel about that i don't feel well about it having a basement especially my own space a little bit separated from my mom is kind of the most important thing about this move for me and i could not see myself living or having a studio in there not the basement we were looking for for sure there's definitely a ton about this house i love the neighborhood it's so walkable i love every finish in all the bathrooms the kitchen the space is a bit limited with only having three bedrooms so an office is gonna have to double as a guest bedroom i don't have a closet the inside is very nice but i feel like i'm hitting my head on almost everything except this floor so i think ultimately what it comes down to is like once you leave for school sweetie like i could see myself here for sure it's just you know like are we frustrated with each other for three years because we don't have space he can't make his music anywhere mom suburbs have a lot more space i know you like the subgroups kid so john's found them something with more space that's in the verbs but they'll have to see past a lot of flaws to make it work it's so hard to look past how dated the house is [Music] i really like this neighborhood do you well yeah it's a neighborhood there's big yards everywhere trees that's nice i'm not loving this feeling but i know it's what you like yeah betsy and miles want to move back home to mercer county new jersey but finding something that feels enough like a big city for her while still quaint and neighborhood like for him is proving difficult it's a tudor style house it's 679 which is fine with me but it was actually built in the 80s so i'm afraid we're going to walk in and it's not going to be updated yeah oh miles i do not like the way this house looks outside i kind of do it it's unique so unique that's a good word for it hey hey how are you guys good how about you you're good he's excited he's got a ton of friends in this neighborhood yes i do love this area i think that might be where the excitement ends for me at least the home i'm showing betsy of miles today is in lawrenceville and the reason why i picked it is because it's a large house it's about 3 300 square feet which gives them the ability to have two separate living spaces ultimately the house does need a little bit of work but i think with the right design and openness to the idea it allows them to get the house they're looking for at a great price well this layout's a little bit funky so bear with me okay we'll start with the family room this place is flooded with natural light vaulted ceilings there's definitely some potential in this room the lighting's great the vaulted ceilings like maybe if that was closed off it could maybe even be an office it's still pretty open to the kitchen i do like this fireplace it's so hard to look past how dated the house is it doesn't fit exactly what you're looking for with the white counters and the white cabinets but what about this space yeah i mean definitely it looks like there's another room behind you i'm sure walls could be knocked down it just that adds up and this is already like mid price range for us so it's definitely a lot to take in and to think about i love doing design work i love making my house my home but when i say that i mean maybe redoing one bathroom or putting some finishing touches on the basement this is a huge renault project and i just don't know if i'm ready for that is that another kitchen john that little lovely window that is in fact another kitchen oh okay this is your mother-in-law suite this does come with its own family room we got a whole bedroom i'm sorry i'm baffled like i don't under it's literally like i could touch the other kitchen and there's a second kitchen maybe it gets knocked down and becomes a bigger kitchen instead of two i don't know ultimately you guys could make this house your own so you got two bedrooms upstairs and two bedrooms downstairs i mean i actually like this room the architectural details of the slanted ceilings aren't bad little window area john this is not a walk-in closet and i guess what you could do is you could actually shrink your bathroom bump this closet out a bit and you might be able to work with it let me bring into the basement all right i'm seeing carpeting which means less work to do down here there's a lot of space yeah i like it i'm thinking you might be able to fit your studio back there it's huge right there's a lot of room back here good ceiling height you're not going to be bumping your head anywhere yep the basement has a ton of potential there's a nice place for a studio a lot of room for me to have my own bedroom and a nice little area for me to have friends over and have a little living room i mean obviously there needs to be some work down here but it's you know the walls are up and he could put his own touches on it yay there's space for an office it gives miles the basement he wants that being said every single room needs to be refinished pretty much it feels like this house is kind of on a steeper end of what i would think it would cost like any room to play there you think yeah i do look this house has been on the market for 71 days they're probably interested in getting it sold i think knowing that maybe we could get a good bargain which you know i love a good bargain yeah i could make this house i'm sure gorgeous but i'm thinking about the renovation cost and the time it's gonna take so john's showing them something more move-in ready almost you can bump out your closet and then you can renovate the bathroom that you're not so keen on that's that i hate the bathroom that i think all right not so keen [Music] right or left you're gonna make a left at this light it looks like we're getting close betsy and miles are starting their next chapter but the battle of city versus neighborhood continues well like colors little shops near it does feel kind of walkable i don't know it still feels very neighborhoody to me i like that although there's something really great about it what it is only 5.89 so that's exciting you know i like a good deal [Music] oh miles that's a big front porch it's beautiful i don't know it looks a little too colonial for me hey so so what'd you guys think about the neighborhood i like it a lot i love the porch yeah what do you think everything i don't like so hopefully there's something good in here i think there's plenty good in here okay let's take a peek all right is this my office yes is there a door here yeah there's actually all right this is a good start inside cool i really like the wood floors john yeah it's a good color yeah what do you think of this open floor plan it's nice i like oh wow this is really nice yeah they just renovated the kitchen you've got all white cabinets it's open bright airy it is oh how cool oh it has another patio let's go no bugs i like the screened in yeah this is good i don't mind the porch out back backyard small it's not the best you know be better if there's a humongous yard oh come on you got no maintenance here you're not doing yard work i honestly think it's great space for you it's just enough to be able to enjoy your backyard yeah but not much maintenance no this is perfect i mean it feels like we're city living which you know i love [Music] i do like that the stairs are at the back of the house that you don't see them like right when you're i think it's a nice touch yeah oh look at the bookshelves these are cool i like how there's like a window in the middle lighting lighting yeah it brings in a lot of natural light right yeah it's good this is my favorite color of the entire house it's beautiful it's neutral but it's nice it pops a little bit this is a great guest room let's take a look at your bedroom look how bright this room is oh okay this is it's huge they've got a big walk-in check this out this is not enough closet space at all it's a lot of space it's like my number one thing all right well hey there's still more to come okay [Music] oh no what that's cool it's like orange downstairs was good upstairs you're not killing it look ultimately what i've seen though is in these models but a lot of people do come out here i'll show you guys they close this wall up which i'll actually give you a ton of space because this is all wasted space right here okay so you can then bump out your closet and then you can renovate the bathroom that you're not so keen on not so that i hate the bathroom that i have all right not so keen okay all right well let's take a peek at the basement for you miles so is it finished no it's not finished unfortunately but another project while we're doing the bathroom spending all my money aren't you well this is a lot lower than your budget okay well my range was starting at five so it's above that but you're right the price of the home is phenomenal i mean it's towards the lower end of my range my concern is there's a lot of work that needs to be put into it so not only is there time associated with that it's a ton of money and all of that just really kind of stresses me out so um it's an unfinished basement i mean yeah you said that but i didn't like no no i mean moss could put his bedroom down here you could have a studio you could fit a bathroom you've got easy access to all the plumbing okay i really like the space in the basement i can see myself having a nice studio but i don't like how it's unfinished and i wouldn't want to wait a couple months for it to get finished it's got your basement kid i really like the neighborhood suburban feel i like the kind of colonial look how it has two porches i do not like the colonial look i mean i didn't see us being in robinsville but i love the walkability the main level like you totally hit it out of the park i just like the bathrooms suck the closet the basement's not done but we have to have a basement so i don't know yeah well just keep in mind we're dealing with super low inventory we have to stay a little bit open-minded no i get it i just you know you know me i'm picky [Music] do you think we have some good contenders or do you feel like we need to come back another weekend no i definitely feel like we have some good options betsy and miles need to decide which home has what they both need to start their next chapter in new jersey let's talk about the house in princeton the one i love i felt like we were in a city there's no suburban feel at all walking into the house it literally is my dream kitchen that first floor is perfect but i can't use that basement for anything and we don't have that space that we're looking for at all and at 8.99 it is really at the top end of what i want to spend what about that tudor in lawrenceville the one that was 679 it does give us the location that i really want i have friends there it is the only house we looked at with the finished basement so right away we would have our space between one another but the whole thing needs to be redone almost let's talk about the house in robinsville that nice colonial house with the porch yeah which i didn't love but what i did love was the price tag 589 which is pretty great i'll tell you what's not great though the main closet and the main bathroom and to make it my own i would have to knock down walls but what about that basement it's a huge basement but it's not finished i gotta spend what the whole summer up there with you oh you poor thing i know you're not going to want to hear my music well that's true that's true [Music] [Music] if you want to drain these olives and put them in one of those white bowls that would be helpful we picked the colonial house in robinsville it is really a great compromise between suburban and city living it's so walkable we've already found a couple great restaurants that we like but it still gives me the suburban feel we'll still have to work on your presentation skills you're gonna thank me when you make a charcuterie board for a girl one day oh the house was listed for 5.89 we ended up paying 6.31 we had a little bit of a bidding war but john worked his magic he knew the agent we wrote a really compelling letter about why we wanted to be back here in new jersey and at the end of the day the house is ours hey guys hey hi welcome to our new house it's gorgeous because this house was at the lower end of what i wanted to spend there's money to do the things we want to do although it's not done yet that basement will definitely be my favorite part of the house it's going to be so amazing to have my own space i can blast my music whenever and she won't have to hear it oh we're so happy to be back guys we're so glad to have you back in this house i see us having a lot of great memories over the next three years it feels so good to be back in new jersey when i think about really finishing out miles's high school career here with all of our friends and family around it really makes me so happy that we made this decision

Channel: House Hunters TV

Views: 32,061

Rating: 4.7253218 out of 5

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Id: p5hcKSMJhiM

Length: 21min 26sec (1286 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 28 2021