-Oh, my gosh. The ceiling's amazing. -This is incredible.
[narrator] LA couple, Fyza and Djilali are leaving the city
for more space in the mountains of Central California.
Wow, look at this mantle.
[narrator] He's a French-bor actor who's always loved the American old West.
-We could actually shoot a Western right here. -[Fyza chuckles]
As a kid, I always wanted to be a cowboy.
[narrator] So the dream is to buy a place with lots of land,
which will allow them to develop their side business,
hosting campers on the property.
I think we can put some tents up there.
-200 bucks a night for each glamping site. -Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
[narrator] But the house they're seeing may require
more work than either of them want to take on.
-[Fyza] Gosh! This carpet needs to go. -[Colleen] Big room.
Oh my. [laughs]
-And yet a different style. [chuckles] -[Djilali] Ooh.
[Fyza] We also need a kitchenette.
You know, you have to factor in
about $10,000 to get it done.
-I got some muffin. -Oh, awesome!
I grew up in Northern France, Normandy
in a small village called Alencon.
I grew up in Los Angeles.
[Fyza] Check out this place.
[Djilali] Ooh, carpet.
We have been together
four years in June.
So what drives me crazy about her is her inability...
I think it's an inability to turn off the light
-after she turns it on. -[Fyza laughs]
[Fyza] He doesn't stop talking. [chuckles]
I love that and then also it's too much.
[Fyza] This view is ridiculous.
[Djilali] We do not live together, um...
She has her own apartment and I have my own place in LA.
But we're planning to move together.
Buying a home is the American dream.
I currently work from home
as the head of production for a production company.
I'm an actor.
I'm able now to do all my self-tape audition from home.
So really, the idea is to move away from LA
so that we have a bigger space.
[Fyza] To be in touch with nature, to be around it,
to be surrounded by trees.
I think I developed a love for the United States
in my youth, watching Westerns
and I've always wanted to be a cowboy.
There is a town there, long time ago.
This is a man-made lake.
Lake Isabella is about three hours north of Los Angeles.
We're focusing on Lake Isabella and the surrounding area
just because of the adventur kind of things that we like to do,
which is the hiking, the outdoor activities that we really enjoy.
The price point away from LA tend to drop allowing us
a larger house, a larger property in general.
[Djilali] How much are you willing to spend to live here?
[Fyza] I mean, I don't want to spend
more than 500, honestly.
Yeah, 500,000 is a lot.
-I'm more of the saving person. -Yeah.
I think, generally speaking,
because I've never grew up
-in any point in my life where we had money. -[Fyza] Mm.
-Are you into this kind of thing? -Not really. I like lodge.
[Fyza] A lodge is like a cabin, right?
No, I think I like more like, Spanish style.
So would you be willing to enter a dwelling that needs some work?
-I would rather not. -Me neither.
Something around like, 2,000 square footage would be nice.
[Fyza] Office, for sure.
[Djilali] A nice-sized kitchen.
Wood cabinets. I like countertops. Like, quartz.
Guesthouse would be perfect, actually.
My family is coming from Bangladesh.
So it's super important that we have
a separate space for them.
You know, I've always lived in LA in tiny apartments.
And now, I can actually ask my mom to come over from Bangladesh
and stay with me in her own place, in her own room.
And that's like, the biggest thing for me, honestly.
[narrator] They also want acreage, so they have plenty of room
for a unique vacation rental business.
I want a place where I can put um, you know, glamping,
-the thing we talked about. -Right.
Wooden floating deck, with a tent on top
-and an outdoor kitchen. -Super cool.
-Well. -You gotta have some acreage.
For me, it'd be the first time I live with somebody.
Yeah, it's not my first time. [chuckles]
-So you have experience? -[Fyza laughs]
I am kind of nervous to be moving in
-together with you. -Yeah.
Yeah.
-You are, aren't you? -Little bit.
-I can tell. -Little bit.
-Yeah. -[Fyza chuckles]
-Custom built, traditional, Victorian. -Victorian.
Price right now is basically 500,000.
It's only a half-acre.
Oh.
Yeah, the land is kind of small.
-[Colleen] Thank you. Just smell the air. -[Fyza] It's so pretty today.
-[Colleen] My God. -[Fyza] I know.
They're not only moving from what they know in the city,
they're moving in together and they want to do a business
with acres and acres of land
in a remote part of the state.
It's important for me that they are both very comfortable.
Do they want to take on multiple acres or maybe that this is really
going to be enough for their first house?
We've got our tall trees.
-[Fyza] It smells so green. -[Djilali] Nice.
-I love the smell up here. -[Djilali] Yeah.
-It's beautiful. -[Fyza] Yeah.
[Colleen] And you've got some real opportunity for glamping here,
even though it's only a half-acre.
-Okay, awesome. -Cool.
[Djilali] Oh, wow. Did you see the ceiling?
-Oh, my gosh. The ceiling's amazing. -This is incredible.
[Djilali] Very nice.
-Okay. -Is this marble? That looks like marble, no?
-This is actually granite. -Oh, granite.
[Djilali] The cabinet is nic It reminds me a little bit o a lodge kind of thing.
-The granite with this. It's like... -With the knotty pine?
Yeah, it's weird.
-Two different styles. -Two different styles.
I would definitely renovate this.
-[Fyza] Not really a big fan -[Djilali] Really?
-[Colleen] Here we have the dining area. -[Fyza] Okay. Okay.
-[Djilali] Yeah. -[Fyza] Now I really like the windows here.
-[Fyza] Oh my gosh. And look at the ceiling. -[Djilali] Ooh, that's nice.
[Colleen] Yeah, it's a turret.
[Colleen] And see how you could do a couple of glamping tents out here.
[Fyza] Its bigger than I imagined, actually.
You can literally put three decks with three tents.
-Right here? -Yeah. One... Two.
Maybe we can even do one over there.
-Yeah, okay. -Yeah, okay. Maybe one between the trees.
-It's true. It's a good place there. -[Fyza] Oh, yeah. Yeah.
-[Djilali] Oh, look, a little stove... -[Fyza] Bigger room.
-[Djilali] ...for the heat. -[Fyza] Well, you kind of need it around here.
[Djilali] This carpet's gotta go, in my opinion.
-That's... -Well, I like it.
-You do? -I like... I like a little mix of wood with carpet.
I think carpet like, warms up the space.
[Djilali] Well, maybe.
[Colleen] Here is your primary.
-[Fyza] This is not a huge room. -[Djilali] No.
-It's not very spacious. -And the ceilings are pretty low.
-Mm, ... -I mean, literally, you can
-touch the fan. -Yeah.
-[Fyza] Oh, my. -[Colleen chuckles]
-[Colleen] And yet a different style. -[Djilali] Ooh.
-[Djilali] Is that marble though? -Do you like this?
Eh, not really.
Ideally, we would move in to a house that's mostly done.
But this house just needs a ton of work
before I feel like I can even move in.
-[Colleen] And so this is... -[Fyza] Whoa, it looks nice.
...like another den, family room.
-[Fyza] Okay. -[Colleen] And you could use it as an office.
[Fyza] Oh, yeah.
We have the other two bedrooms up here.
[Fyza] Okay. What?
-This room has a Murphy bed. -[Djilali] Oh, no way. Whoa.
-I have not pulled it down, so... -[Fyza] Okay.
-Oh, okay. -You have to put the--
-These are the legs. -[Fyza] Are you ser-- Oh.
[Fyza] Okay.
-Ooh. It's cool. -It feels super
-easy to do. -Really?
-Look. -Oh, really?
Oh my gosh. [Fyza gasps] Look at the headboard.
It actually has a headboard.
-[Djilali] Nice. -I want one of these.
I know. It's really cool.
-[Fyza] And what is-- -This is the Scottish room.
-I don't know. -[Fyza and Colleen laugh]
-The Scottish room. -That is a good name,
-actually. "Scottish room." [chuckles] -That is funny.
-[Fyza] It's a big room. Gosh, this carpet needs to g -[Colleen] Big room but...
-Okay, and what's this? -Here's the feature of this room.
[Fyza] Oh.
-[Fyza] Well, this is kind of awesome. -[Colleen] Here is a shed.
-[Fyza] Yeah. -[Colleen] With not that much in it.
-Now look at this. We can't go inside this one... -Oh, this is huge.
-...but that's a two-car garage. It's gigantic. -[Djilali] This is huge.
[Fyza] The garage is what could be converted to the guesthouse, right?
[Djilali] I mean, it would cost a lot of money. 20,000 minimum.
Plus the renovations inside, which is like,
-the kitchen and the carpet. -[Djilali] Yeah.
[Fyza] Painting, things like that.
-So that would be around 50,000, I think. -[Djilali] Yeah.
Is that wise to include such a large amount of renovation
on top of this trace of moving into a new home?
The first time we're together, I don't know.
This is something we would have to consider carefully.
[narrator] So Colleen finds a place that's move-in ready
but they won't get that without giving up something else.
[Colleen] Now this is just a quarter acre.
-There's no space for glamping then. -Not here.
I wonder how it feels to be like, with you in the house.
It will be difficult.
[Fyza laughs]
-Difficult? It's going to be awesome. -Well.
[Fyza chuckles]
So it was just built in 2016.
-Oh, really? Huh. -Yeah.
Its right in our price point.
500,000.
That's pretty nice.
-[Colleen] It's beautiful up here, isn't it? -Oh gosh.
-It's gorgeous. -[Djilali] It's pretty nice. Yeah.
-[Fyza] Yeah. -[Colleen] We have more neighbors
so I know you don't have the big plot of land here
but I want to show you a really done house
-that's turnkey, right? -[Djilali] Mm-hmm.
-You just move right in. -[Fyza] Mm.
-And you can get started. -Nice.
There is a downstairs area for an ADU.
-Oh, really? -Yeah.
It's got custom finishes, quality materials.
To be able to move into a home
and not have to worry about fixing it,
not have to agree on what they would do,
take a little bit of stress off the relationship.
They can move in and they can start living in it right away.
-[Colleen] This is our main entryway. -[Fyza] Wow. Whoa!
-[Colleen] Right? Beautiful. [chuckles] -[Djilali] This is huge.
-[Djilali] Look at the window. -[Fyza] This is gorgeous.
-[Colleen] I know. -Look, it's...
-It's really, really cool, really. -Beautiful stonework.
So here you're going to find the first bathroom and the two bedrooms.
-Okay, cool -Yeah.
[Fyza] I feel like this room is best for like, to be an office.
Could this be your studio?
-Yeah, it could potentially be a studio. -We could have it like,
-the studio and then also the friends over. -[Djilali] Yeah, absolutely.
-[Fyza] Oh, my gosh. -[Djilali] Whoa. Look at the beam.
-Oh, yeah. -This is so your thing.
-This is no joke over here. Wow, look at this mantle. -[Colleen laughs]
-[Djilali] Yeah. -This is so the lodge that you want.
-[Fyza] You are the lodge. -[Colleen] But it is very nice finishes,
-good layout, lots of space. -[Fyza] Yes.
-[Fyza] Just gorgeous. I actually really like this -[Djilali] It's pretty cool
-Even though it's like this country thing. Yeah. -It's that wood, looks nice.
-[Fyza] You like the thicker granite. -[Djilali] There you go.
-See, that's what I'm talking about. -This is the thicker granite.
[Colleen] So you like the touches?
-[Djilali] Yes, I think it's super cool. -[Fyza] Yeah, I do like it.
I love just being able to move in.
-I know. It is a... It's a good feeling. -You know what I mean?
-[Fyza] Washer-dryer, laundry hookups here. -[Colleen] Laundry room. Yea
[Fyza] Look at this bathroom.
-[Djilali] It's very nice. -[Colleen] Now one thing I want to show
-is that it does connect to this room. -[Fyza gasps]
-[Djilali] Oh, wow. -What is this room?
[Colleen] So this is the primary with the en suite bathroom.
-Got you. All right. -Which is shared then with the house...
-Kitchen area. -Yeah.
-[Fyza] Okay. This is a pretty big room. -[Djilali] Wow. It is... Yea
[Fyza] Oh.
-I didn't even see this. -[Colleen] Right?
[Fyza] Whoa.
-Look at the trees around here. -I mean, you really are
in a little treehouse here.
So is that the-- That's the driveway.
[Colleen] Now this is just a quarter acre.
I mean, here's the thing. We can't do glamping out there because
-there's no privacy. -No way. No way.
But it does have the ADU.
-Yeah. Oh. -Oh, we gotta check that out.
[Colleen] This is what I think you could do into an ADU.
-[Fyza] Oh, yes you can. -[Djilali] Oh, wow. Look at that.
-[Colleen laughs] -[Fyza] When family comes to visit,
-this is awesome. And a fireplace down here. -Yeah. Yeah.
I like this room. I really like it.
-[Djilali] Oh, wow. -[Colleen] That's your third bathroom.
-There's an actual shower in here. -[Colleen] Yeah.
[Fyza] Wow.
-[Colleen] I would make this the bedroom. -[Djilali] Yeah.
-[Colleen] And make that the living area. -[Fyza] Yeah.
[Fyza] We also need a kitchenette.
You know, you have to factor in about
$10,000 to get it done, I would say.
-[Fyza] Okay. -[Djilali] I mean, this is something to remember.
[Fyza] Okay.
-[Colleen] I'm going to go back inside and lock up. -[Fyza] Okay, cool.
-See you, Colleen. Thank you. Bye bye. -Okay. Bye bye.
[Djilali] I just love the finish,
-the way they finished everything. -[Fyza] Yeah.
[Fyza] That's great but the only thing is
-the space. We don't... -Oh! The land. The land is so small.
[narrator] So Colleen finds a place on five acres
with plenty of outdoor space
But inside, it's far from perfect.
-This is kind of bizarre that there is... -This looks like a prison.
Uh... Oh, there's the house.
-Yeah. -For sure. That--
-Now I recognize that house. -Mm.
[Fyza] Okay, these are the sheds that-- Remember in the picture?
-[Djilali gasps] Oh, my God. -[Fyza] Yeah.
-We could actually shoot a Western right here. -[Fyza chuckles]
-All we need is a horse. -It's totally your thing.
We need a horse. [laughs]
-[Colleen] Did you ask for trees? -[Fyza] I know. Oh my gosh.
-A town, too. You get a town. -[Djilali] A town, yeah.
-[Colleen] A good start to your rental ideas. -[Djilali] It's awesome. Yea
-[Djilali] This is so cool. -They haven't been completely finished because
the gentlemen who owned this
would have an idea and then they would build it
and you've got over five acres here.
-[Fyza] Wow. -As a kid, one of the things that I liked most is uh,
dressing up a a cowboy.
I've always wanted to be a cowboy.
So it's super cool that this house
is a little bit like a ghost town.
-You got three bedrooms, three baths. -[Djilali] Oh, nice.
-[Djilali] It's a good view though, huh? -[Fyza] Yeah.
-[Fyza] Amazing. -[Colleen] Yeah.
[Fyza] Oh my gosh. This kitchen is gigantic.
-[Colleen] It's kind of an open floor plan. -[Fyza] Did you see this?
[Djilali] How do you like the tile?
-[Djilali] I don't like it. -[Fyza] I'm not super thrilled with the tiles
but I think I can live with it or
maybe eventually change it out.
-[Djilali] Okay. -[Fyza] Yeah.
It's a little high for us.
-Well, let's keep in mind what we're getting, right? -[Fyza] So... Yeah.
-You've got 2,200 square foot house. -[Fyza] Right.
Youve got a guest quarters already set up for you.
-[Djilali] What do you mean set up? -Yeah.
[Colleen] Wait till you see downstairs.
-[Fyza] Right, right, right. Yeah. -[Djilali] Yeah.
[Colleen] So now you have your high ceilings.
-[Fyza] I love the windows. -[Colleen] Right?
-[Fyza] It's super cool. -[Djilali] It is nice.
-[Colleen] There's going to be some stuff here that's... -[Fyza] Awesome.
...probably, you know, up for grabs, if you want it,
including these drapes.
-Fyza, I think this is your style. -I... [Fyza chuckles]
-I think we need to change the drapes immediately. -[Colleen laughs]
-[Fyza] And what's over here -[Colleen] Okay, now this is
-what we call a pass-through room. -[Fyza] Oh. Uh-huh.
-Which means you have to pass through this room.. -[Fyza] Oh.
[Colleen] ...to get to another.
Yeah, it's like, you don't want people
coming in and out if it's a bedroom.
-[Djilali] Not at all. And we need the office anywa -[Fyza] Not at all, but...
-So we'll use that. That's it. -Yeah.
And look at that. You're working with this view.
I mean, you know, this is super awesome.
-[Colleen] Now here is the main bedroom. -[Fyza] Okay.
-Oh my God. This is huge. Yeah. -[Djilali exclaims] This is...
[Fyza] What's going on up here? Is it totally open?
-[Colleen] It's totally open. This is your main bathroom. -[Djilali] It is open.
-[Djilali] Wow. -[Fyza] It's-- Look in the shower.
-[Djilali] Oh, wow. -[Fyza] Three showerheads.
This is kind of bizarre...
-that there is... -[Djilali] This looks like a prison.
-[Colleen chuckles] -[Fyza] ... You have zero privacy.
Look, I don't like these, either.
-Not really a big fan. -[Fyza] Really?
I think they're cool, though.
[Fyza] I'm not into it.
[Colleen] Okay, let me show you the downstairs.
[Fyza] That's a nice, big garage.
-[Djilali] It's a two-car garage. -It's a two-car garage.
[Colleen] That is the bathroom. That's your third bathroom.
-[Fyza] Okay, cool. -[Colleen] But you might want to use it
-for this guest area. -[Fyza] What is this? Okay.
-[Fyza] Whoa. What is-- Oh, it's like a toolroom. -[Colleen] Yeah. [chuckles]
[Djilali] Let me see. Do you have an entrance there?
[Colleen] We have an entrance that goes both outside in.
[Djilali] No way. Look at that.
-[Djilali] So you have your own entrance. -[Fyza] Pretty expensive.
-[Fyza] How cool are these walls? -[Colleen] Right?
-[Fyza] And then that, the corrugated steel is cool. -[Djilali] I know.
-[Fyza] Very cabin. -[Djilali] We could have your family in there.
[Fyza] Yeah.
Block the entrance to the garage,
have the guests have their own bathroom here.
Maybe even a kitchen around there.
[Fyza] Yeah, it does seem very expensive though, still.
[Djilali] 500? 525?
-525,000. -[Djilali] Eh...
-It's a little expensive. -[Fyza] It's a little over, you know?
[Fyza] Wow. Oh my gosh.
-This is amazing. -[Colleen] Right?
-[Djilali] The only problem is the fire. -I love it.
-[Fyza] I know. -[Colleen] Well, we do have to get fire insurance
-cleared right away before we go any further on this... -[Djilali] Yeah. Yeah.
-...because of it. -[Fyza] Yeah.
It's always a big issue when you're seeing this.
It's like, what's that gonna be?
[Fyza] I think we can put some tents up there.
I think two over here and maybe three over there.
-200 bucks a night for each glamping site. -[Djilali] Yeah. Yeah. Yeah
We can start with just focusing on glamping
and then take that money and use it towards
renovating the downstairs guest unit and the sheds
which we could potentially rent out later on.
It has potential. That's for sure, to say the least.
What I don't like is the fact that the fire licked the area
-pretty close. -[Fyza] You know, that's a concern.
[Colleen] There's a lot going on.
-Yeah. -And a lot for you guys to figure out and think about.
So how long before we get to LA you think?
Like, at least three hours.
Let's go down the list. We have three hours on the road.
[narrator] Fyza and Djilali have struggled
to find a home that fits their mountain fantasy.
Now it's time to deicide.
What do you think about the Victorian house?
[Djilali] Well, it sure has lots of very unique features.
[Fyza] The copper ceiling.
-I mean... -[Djilali] Yeah, it was cool.
Really unusual.
[Fyza] But the renovation.
-So the kitchen needs to be redone. -[Djilali] Right.
[Djilali] And the bathroom is pretty hideous.
[Fyza] And its half an acre.
Glamping might be a possibility.
-It just has to be smaller. -[Djilali] Oh, man. It's a lot of work to do
if you want to have an ADU in the back.
[Fyza] And we already need to lower that price point
-so that we can afford to renovate. -Right.
[Fyza] What do you think of the newer house?
The cost is right on.
The potential for the ADU downstairs,
-that's pretty cool too. -[Fyza] Right.
But it is on a quarter acre.
We can't do glamping there. There's just no option.
-But I think there is some really quality material there. -[Fyza] Yeah.
I mean, I love the fact that its turnkey, don't get me wrong.
It'll be less stressful for us.
What about the five acre one?
[Fyza] Price is high but I like the acreage.
I like that we can do our glamping, for sure.
The downstairs ADU conversion possibility there.
-[Fyza] So that's a lot of renovation. -[Djilali] Yeah.
But the good thing is the renovation is downstairs,
-it's not in our faces so w don't have to deal with it. -[Fyza] That's true.
But it kind of worries me about
future fires. Would that be a problem?
[Fyza] I don't know.
Look at how cool it is.
-It's really flat over here. -Mm.
We bought the five acres.
[Djilali] We have plenty of space to put our glamping area.
[Fyza] All of the sheds, that are already like,
-insulated with power, ready to go. -[Djilali] Yeah.
[Fyza] The opportunity for even more like,
rentals and, you know, and ADUs and...
There's so many possibilities here.
The view is pretty cool.
We were able to get it at a whopping $500,000.
-Are we happy with the price -[Fyza] I'm super excited about the price.
[Djilali] That gave us more room to use money
for renovation and things like that.
Wooden floating deck, with a tent on top.
-[Djilali] We're thinking about three tents. -[Fyza] Hmm.
And we have this suite downstairs that will allow us
to actually create this living area for her family.
-Anyway, I think this is a great idea. I love it. -So... [chuckles] Yeah.
Taking care of five acres isn't going to be that big of a problem
because it's not like it's a big manicured area.
[Djilali] Let it grow and hope it doesn't burn.
[Fyza] But we have fire insurance as well.
[Fyza] All right, let's go.
-[Djilali] Do you mind if I nap around here first? -[Fyza laughs]
Living together really hasn't changed anything much in our relationship.
-Yeah, we haven't killed each other yet. -No.
-I think it feels fine, it feels normal. -Um... Yeah.
Isn't that perfect?
-You can lay there, read a book. -Oh! Oh!
It has great signification, owning a home.
For us, I mean, for me, you know.
To welcome my own mother in my own home and say,
"Mom, your son did it. He did it.
He bought a house in America. What do you think of that?"
Yeah, I just can't wait.