[Ryan] Are we gettin' beach vibes yet or...
- [Jamie] Yeah, no, this... - I like the palm trees...
[Jamie] This house is adorable.
[narrator] Tired of the grind, Jamie and Joe left corporate life
for more flexible e-commerce jobs,
so they can move from New Jersey
to less expensive and sunnier Florida.
I am not gonna do another winter in New Jersey.
[narrator] She wants to spend their max on a turnkey place,
but he's all about a low price.
I mean, this house is, like, practically brand new,
and you're talking about changing the cabinets.
[narrator] So, she has few tricks up her sleeve
to sell him on her vision.
The thing that makes me nuts about Joe
is how frugal he can be, but he picks and chooses
what he wants to be frugal about.
Here's your oasis, buddy.
- [Jamie] Your pool! - [Joe] My oasis, wow!
[Jamie] Does this make the price any better?
Oh, this is cute!
- Oh, wow. - [Jamie] Oh, look at the yard!
[Joe] Palm tree...
[Jamie] We met working together.
He comes across really tough on the exterior
and when we first met, he didn't want people to know that he had a sensitive side.
But I was sure to let everybody know.
I still don't want people to know.
[Jamie] We've been married for four years.
We have our two fur babies, Zoe and Maisie.
We were in corporate retail, was kind of sick of the grind,
and Joe was feeling the same way,
and we decided to take the risk together
about three and a half years ago to become our own entrepreneurs,
and we're running e-commerce businesses.
We're not answering to anyone, we're not on a strict schedule,
we have complete flexibility, which I love.
So, we should, when we're done eating and getting settled,
we should call your mom and see what she's up to,
and maybe we can head downtown to St. Pete.
Right now, we are currently living in north... northern New Jersey.
I wanna get away from the winters,
and now that we have the flexibility,
I figured why not just move somewhere where it's permanently sunny?
[Joe] You maybe get a little bit more space for your money,
I can be near my mother...
So we came down, um, we're staying in a rental,
blocked out this week for us to start house hunting,
and hopefully find something.
I know we were approved for up to $550,000,
but that would be really stretching us financially.
$500,000 is really my ceiling right now.
Joe is extremely analytical, and big into finances,
and being responsible with money,
and I could not be more opposite.
For me, this is a really big commitment,
it's a really big purchase,
we're moving out of state, away from friends and family,
I really want a home that I'm going to like.
Ranches really sweet to me, I love the style.
Especially in Florida, I like when they kind of have that little bungalow feel,
and there's palm trees outside...
- You put what a place looks like over the functionality. - I do, I do.
I want it to look nice.
It's like that office chair that you have.
Oh, yeah...
I bought a really uncomfortable office chair
because it's cute, but I refuse to admit it's uncomfortable.
Ideally, I would actually like to be right in St. Pete.
Just that whole downtown area, the bars, the restaurants, the pier...
And then, we're super close to your mom.
We don't have unlimited resources,
and we know we can get a lot more value
if we get a little bit outside of St. Pete.
I don't want the house to get too big, though.
Like, it's just gonna be the two of us.
We need a guest bedroom for friends and family,
we might need a bedroom for my office space,
maybe something for your workout space.
Right, so I guess that's...
- Four... I guess, I guess... - That's, like...
- like, four bedrooms. - four bedrooms pretty quick.
But I don't want a really big house.
A laundry room.
Laundry is my absolute favorite chore.
I will do laundry all day, every day.
Like, living in New Jersey, the laundry has always been in basements.
I want a pretty, clean, nice laundry room.
Turnkey, ready to move in.
I don't wanna do the renovations...
I think we should just be open to the... to the potential value
we can get in a place with some minor renovations.
What's gonna happen is, we're gonna move in,
and we're gonna have a list of things that we want to renovate,
you're gonna get sticker shock seeing the price,
and we're gonna want to put it off.
And then it's just gonna get pushed off, pushed off.
One of my wishes, and you know how I feel about this,
a pool in the backyard.
I mean, it's kind of like the Florida dream, right?
The thing that makes me nuts about Joe is how frugal he can be,
but he picks and chooses what he wants to be frugal about.
Like, he'll wanna go out and buy an $8,000 hot tub,
but then when I rent a movie on demand,
[laughing] he wants the $2.99 from me for the movie rental.
You know that's true.
This one is brand new, it's in St. Pete,
a little over 1,300 square feet.
$485,000.
It's really small, for that price point...
[Jamie] But it would be so fun to live right near the downtown area.
- Here we go. - Oh, look how cute this house is!
- [Joe] It is small! - [Jamie] No, no...
It's my little bungalow!
- Oh, my gosh. - Oh, my God!
- [Jamie] So cute. - And you have to park cars right behind each other.
- [Ryan] Hey guys, you found it! - [Jamie] Hey, Ryan!
- [Ryan] Are we gettin' beach vibes yet, or what? - [Jamie] Yet.
- No, this... this house is adorable. - I like the palm trees.
- [Ryan] Come on in, come on in. - [Jamie] It's the...
Florida vibe I was looking for.
Oh, this is cute!
[Ryan] This is your main living space.
Can we even get a couch in this space?
It's... It's pretty tight.
- Can we get a sectional? - We'd have to have a small couch.
Small couch, maybe TV on that wall.
But, I really like the look.
I love the openness, the brightness...
I booked this house with Jamie in mind.
This market is constantly going in the upward direction.
Inflation is through the roof, it's ten minutes from St. Pete.
Location, location, location.
That's what this property is.
It's all brand new construction.
I love that nobody's lived here.
- [Joe] You've always wanted a new house. - Yeah, I love that.
That's the best part, I think.
[Ryan] Uh, luxury vinyl plank,
granite countertops...
[Jamie] The kitchen is so pretty.
I love the white, the brightness...
I do really love the floors.
I love the color...
[Joe] Is this a closet? Like a walk-in closet?
It's not that small!
It's pretty average sized.
Yeah, this could be a fine guest room.
I mean, you just need a bed and a nightstand.
[Ryan] Laundry room.
Laundry room?
- [Ryan] Laundry room. - [Joe] That's a stretch.
That's not a laundry room. This is a laundry closet.
Yeah, laundry closet, for sure.
[Jamie] But, I guess it's better it's not in the garage.
- Guest bathroom right behind you there. - Okay...
Oh, this is pretty.
I love the light cabinets and the countertops.
[Ryan] Second guest room...
[Jamie] Oh, this has two windows.
Feels like it's nice and bright in here.
So, then one of these rooms could potentially be our office
or we also need space for your workout equipment.
Absolutely not practical or functional for our needs.
I think this house is way too small,
I think the general living room space is really small,
I think where we would have to work
and conduct our business would be very tight.
[Jamie] Oh, this isn't much bigger...
[Joe] Wow!
Could we get a king size bed in here?
- [Jamie] I think... - [Joe] 'Cause that would be a dealbreaker.
We have to be able to fit a king size bed in our bedroom.
Well, wait. And does that go outside?
[Ryan] Yes, so it leads to out back, yeah.
Is that the only door to out back?
[Ryan] So, there is a door on the side of the garage that leads into the backyard.
- It's a little strange. - Yeah.
Um, but yeah, I guess we get a king size bed, and then...
- Nice, small nightstand or two? - [Joe] Nice, one night...
one, maybe one nightstand?
[Jamie] Oh!
This is pretty.
- I like the double sinks... - [Ryan] Big sink countertops.
- [Jamie] Yup. - [Ryan] Granite...
I love the white cabinets, it's nice and bright.
Oh, wow!
- [Joe] This is bigger than the bedroom, right? - [Jamie] I know, they should,
should've taken away from this for the bedroom.
I like that there's no tub.
You know, I'm not a tub person, I don't take baths.
[Ryan] Let's check out the backyard!
- [Jamie] It's small, but it's cute. - It is completely fenced in.
[Jamie] Yup, I love the fence for Zoe and Maisie.
- What do you think, babe? - But there's really no room for a pool out here, is there?
No, there's definitely no space for a pool.
But you could put your hot tub out here.
We're looking for that Florida oasis that this really isn't...
feeling like to me.
Maybe if we put some lounge chairs, and a hot tub,
then there's enough space for the dogs to still run around.
We had always talked about potentially wanting to be in St. Pete,
but I think as we've been shopping,
it's been really challenging finding the value in St. Pete.
I think with smaller homes for higher prices.
- I told you I wanted that... - [Ryan] Right.
Florida vibe.
- I mean, that's it. - [Ryan] Mmm-hmm.
There's a palm tree in the front yard,
it's mint green, it's super cute,
I love that it's super close to your mom and downtown.
[Joe] And it's under our price point.
This place is just really tight.
- It is. - [Joe] It's just, like,
trying to shoehorn all of our furniture
and live in this space, and work in this space.
I know that if we go a little farther out,
we can probably get a little bit larger house,
and maybe a little bit more value for our money.
Yeah, absolutely. Let me see what I got.
I just feel like this is already so much better than New Jersey.
Everything's green.
[Joe] And so sunny.
Yeah, it's pretty, it's sunny.
Feels a little bit like we're in the middle of nowhere.
It is listed at $475,000.
- [Jamie] Hey, Ryan! - [Ryan] Welcome!
- [Joe] Hey, Ryan! - [Jamie] How are you?
- Good, how are you? - [Jamie] Good!
I mean, it's nice, but it's not my ranch that I was looking for.
[Ryan] Let's check out the inside first.
- [Jamie] Okay. - [Joe] Keep an open mind.
[Jamie] Okay.
I am trying to get Jamie to broaden her scope just a little bit.
We are a little outside of her comfort area,
a driving distance into St. Pete,
but I think, you know, if she's willing to compromise a little bit,
she will get more square footage and more bang for her buck
out here in Palmetto.
- Here is your formal dining room. - [Jamie] Ooh.
I feel like this could be a good space for the office.
[Joe] That is quite the light fixture.
[Jamie] I don't think we would ever use this for a dining room.
- No. - We just are not formal dining room people.
But if this is our office space,
we can't have that light fixture.
Right up here on your left is the half bath, downstairs.
[Jamie] Oh, it's really white and kind of sterile.
It's just like the other room, everything seems to be
- very white and grey. - Yeah, yeah.
- [Ryan] Open living area and kitchen... - [Joe] Oh, wow.
[Jamie] There is good natural light.
I don't think I've ever seen anything like that.
- Oh, yeah. - Yeah, it's a nice touch.
- With the faux fireplace down there? - [Jamie] Yeah.
- But... - [Joe] More grey and white though, right?
It's a little sterile.
I feel like we would have to warm it up with paint.
I love the island, I love the kitchen space,
but it's really dark.
I really wanted white cabinets, bright...
That is a super easy fix.
Couple hundred bucks, and this is, you know...
- [Jamie] To paint them? - Brand new, yeah.
And we're... I mean, this house looks like, practically brand new,
and you're talking about changing the cabinets.
Joe being really practical, I know that he would want to take a project like that
and kind of space it out and maybe do it long term, or down the road.
Where I am just urgent, I want to get it done quickly.
We work from home, so I don't really want a construction zone
with dust everywhere.
[Ryan] Check out the backyard real quick.
[Jamie] Ooh! It's noisy out here.
[Joe] Very noisy.
[Ryan] Well, it is an interstate, but hey, look,
we got enough room for a pool out here, how about that?
- [Jamie] Yeah. - [Joe] And it's fully fenced.
[Jamie] Yeah, this is really good yard space,
the dogs can run out here...
[Joe] We need some, like, noise cancelling headphones or something.
[Jamie chuckling] Yeah.
[Jamie] I am not loving this carpet.
I'm not a fan of carpet, it grosses me out.
[Ryan] Loft slash workout zones...
- [Jamie] Okay. - [Joe] This would be a great workout space.
[Jamie] And, we're gonna sweat on the carpet?
We'll have to put down rubber mats or something.
[Jamie] I don't know.
So, I'm guessing the whole upstairs is carpeted?
- [Ryan] The entire upstairs is all the same color, yes. - Okay.
I mean, if we wanted to rip it up and do hardwood,
what are we looking at price-wise?
[Ryan] Uh, I mean, if you're just this room,
- it'd be... - No, the whole thing.
- [Joe] Get out your tape measure Ryan, I mean, come on! - $5,000-10,000,
probably, for this upstairs.
- And dependent on... that's... - [Joe] Wow.
[Ryan] ...hardwood laminate, hardwood vinyl...
Primary bedroom right over here.
[Jamie] This is good space.
Oh, this is nice!
I mean, I love that there's no tub,
but it would be nice if the shower had a glass door.
But maybe we can install it. Would that be expensive to do?
- [Ryan] $1,500 to $2,500. - [Jamie] Okay.
This, I love.
[Ryan] Giant closet.
[Jamie] And with all of the built-ins, we might not even
need a lot of furniture in the bedroom.
- This is really nice. - This is a really nice closet.
[Ryan] Laundry room.
I mean, this isn't really the dream laundry room I was looking for.
I really wanted cabinets and big space.
[Joe] There's definitely some space here.
- [Jamie] Yeah, no, I do... - It's much better than a basement or a garage.
- It is. It definitely is. - Right?
And I do like that it's its own separate space.
I could add some paint, make it fun.
[Ryan] And this is the first of the three guest bedrooms.
[Jamie] Oh, this is good space.
[Ryan] They're all pretty similar.
- [Jamie] Okay. - [Ryan] Plenty of room for guests.
[Jamie] Yes, or office space.
[Joe] I mean, this place has a lot of great space.
My favorite being the loft.
The carpet, I don't love. I definitely would want to change that.
The noise from the highway, not so great.
[narrator] Ryan's found a place
with a Florida-style backyard Joe's been waiting for.
Here's your oasis, buddy.
- [Jamie] Your pool! - [Joe] My oasis, wow!
Do you know how far we are from your mom?
Yeah, we're about, uh, 30 or 40 minutes north
of where she lives right now,
in downtown St. Petersburg.
Okay.
[narrator] E-commerce entrepreneurs Jamie and Joe
are moving from New Jersey to Florida,
and have just a few days left to find a place.
I don't know if you're gonna be happy with the price.
$550,000.
But it does have a pool...
I mean, a pool is a nice thing,
I, you know, I'm looking for that backyard oasis.
Yeah, you want a private pool.
[Jamie] It's an interesting green color.
I think I like it.
Like, what is that, like, avocado?
I don't know, it's more like lime.
Look at this baby palm tree! I love it.
It's very beachy.
-[Ryan] Hey, guys. Good morning. -How's it going?
-[Joe] Fine, how's it going? -[Ryan] Good, good, good. Come on in.
Oh, wow.
[Ryan] So, this house...
- [Jamie] This is pretty. - [Ryan] Just over 1,900 square foot.
- [Jamie] Okay. - They recently renovated it.
- Lots of natural light... - Joe, there's your pool!
[Joe] Wow, my oasis!
[Ryan] It does have a nice pool, screen, and lanai out there.
It's so open and bright and airy.
- I like the barstools, that's cute. - [Joe] It is cute.
- [Jamie] I love the floors. - [Ryan] Yup.
All new flooring throughout, quartz countertops.
[Jamie] Wait, I love the white with the black.
I don't really love the blue,
but we can paint that.
[Ryan] Laundry room's here to the right.
-Laundry room? Is it a real laundry room? -[Ryan] Nice and big.
- It's a real laundry room. - [Jamie] Oh, my gosh, it's an actual room!
- [Joe] Wow! - [Jamie] This is the laundry room I wanted. Yes!
But no washer and dryer.
[Jamie] We'll just... We'll buy 'em, and then they're nice and new.
I was hoping we'd not have to do any improvements here.
- Or additions. - Okay, well...
Let's see the rest.
-I haven't seen any carpet. No carpet anywhere? -[Ryan] Yeah.
- Absolutely no carpet. - That's a big plus for me.
Here's your guest bathroom.
Oh, it has a door out to the pool!
[Ryan] It leads to the pool...
- for when you have guests over, yes. - [Jamie] I love that!
- [Joe] Oh, that's perfect. - That's so cute.
- They don't have to... - [Jamie] 'Cause when they come in, yeah.
They don't have to go through your house.
- And get the floors all wet. - That's right.
- Okay. - Yeah.
[Jamie] This is really pretty, it still has the beachy vibes, glass door.
[Joe] Multiple blue doors...
Yeah, the blue is overkill a little.
- [Jamie] But we could easily change the paint color. - [Joe] Yeah, we can, yup.
Okay, cute.
[Joe] It should be perfect, though, if it's $550,000.
- Joe... - And you've got three guest rooms
on this end of the house.
All pretty similar in size.
- [Joe] So there are four bedrooms, then. - [Ryan] Four bedrooms.
- [Jamie] Oh, four! I thought it was three. - [Joe] Ah, three...
- Oh, that makes a big difference. - Okay.
That does make a big difference.
Now do you feel better about the price?
[Joe] No, but...
[Jamie] Oh, I like that this one has two windows.
- It's brighter... - [Ryan] Two windows, yup.
- It is brighter in here. - Yup.
[Jamie] So, I mean, we could use one of these rooms
- for... - [Joe] ...an office space.
[Jamie] Or workout.
- Okay, this is very nice. - Let me take you, yeah.
- Let me take you, I'll show you the pool. - Yes, the pool!
That's where we're gonna win Joe over.
- Here's your oasis, buddy. - [Jamie] Your pool!
[Joe] My oasis, wow!
[Ryan] The enclosed lanai does have your little two-seater spa here.
[Jamie] Cool, does this make the price any better?
The price is still the price.
Makes it worthwhile!
Maybe it justifies it?
- Maybe it justifies it. - Yeah!
Definitely doesn't make it better.
$550,000 is still $550,000.
-No fence. -Yeah, that's a... That's a big issue.
[Ryan] I mean, it is a decent sized yard.
- [Joe] Yeah. - [Ryan] Even after you put up a fence,
they would have a lot of room to run, for sure.
How much are we talking for a fence?
What do you think?
If we do like...
I mean, you're probably... You're under 10 grand.
Right around 10 grand...
- Okay, that's not bad. - [Ryan] ...for a fence.
[Joe] I mean that's...
The extras are starting to add up on top of that $550,000.
And then your primaries, you can see out from the primary right here.
Oh, so that's nice. There's a window looking out to it.
- Yeah, let me show you. - Okay.
Oh, so these are doors too, but they...
- won't open. - blocked it off with the garden.
- That's strange. - [Ryan] Yeah.
But it does open it up, brings in all the natural light.
[Jamie] Yeah, there is definitely good light in here.
But I mean, this view, when you're waking up in the morning?
[Ryan] Enough room for a king-sized bed.
[Jamie] True, with some nightstands on the side.
Closet looks like it might be big enough that we wouldn't need a lot of dressers.
Ooh, I love the blue.
Whoa, whoa! What is that thing?
[Ryan] That is a heavy piece of machinery.
I think it'll get you clean, though.
- Yeah, okay. - Every nook and cranny.
The floors are pretty, but I don't know.
- [Joe] Not my style. - [Jamie] Blue is just not my style.
- [Joe] Enough to be a dealbreaker? - No.
No, definitely not.
I mean, I love it.
[Joe] It is nice, it's new.
- It's got the pool, which I love. - [Jamie] Yeah.
You know, obviously, my biggest issue with the place is the price.
Gotta plug in a fence, we need a new washer and dryer...
We're at the top. We're at the very top.
Keep in mind, this market is super hot right now.
- [Jamie] Okay. - Houses come on and fly off.
- [Jamie] Okay. - So, don't take too much time.
But think it over, and let me know.
Okay, I mean, we can't take too much time,
because I am not gonna do another winter in New Jersey.
[narrator] They're determined to make a decision before they head back home.
With the market being the way it is,
I don't wanna delay, and I don't wanna lose out on a house.
The weather has been so nice this whole time,
I just can't even believe we have to go back to New Jersey.
[narrator] Jamie and Joe left their jobs in corporate America
for more mobile e-commerce careers.
So they're moving from New Jersey to Florida.
[Jamie] So, what about the new construction house at St. Pete?
What about it?
- [Jamie] It's... - [Joe] It was small.
[Jamie] But it's so cute!
We're so close to your mom,
we're near all the action, turnkey, we don't have to do anything to it,
and it's within what we want to spend,
what you want to spend.
It is, but you're only getting 1,300 square feet of the space.
There isn't space in the backyard for a pool,
there's barely room for a hot tub,
I mean, that backyard was really small.
What about the two-story, the brown house we saw in Palmetto?
[Joe] Look at how much more value we get when we get away from St. Pete.
- 2,600 plus square feet. - [Jamie] Yeah.
And it was $475,000.
You like the price for that, all that space.
I mean, very, very functional home.
There is more than enough space in that backyard to put a pool.
[Jamie] It is noisy.
I do think it's a little sterile.
The staircase and the entire second floor is carpet,
which, that, I would want to rip up right away.
The kitchen seems a little outdated, it's really dark.
[Joe] That kitchen could be updated relatively affordably.
You know things like that always drag on
and take way longer than you think they're going to.
I don't know, I just don't know if I'm up for something like that.
[Joe] That place in Clearwater was really nicely renovated.
- They did a really nice job with that home. - [Jamie] They did.
It had the palm trees, it had that beachy feel.
[Joe] That backyard pool.
- I mean, that is... - [Jamie] It's your oasis!
[Joe] It's a true oasis.
I mean, this house was $550,000.
Very, very top of what you wanted to spend.
Not what I wanted to spend.
And, we're now having to spend a couple grand for a washer and dryer,
and ten grand for a fence, before we even move in.
Oh, but the laundry room...
Can we talk about it?
I know it doesn't have a washer and dryer,
but that is the laundry room I was looking for.
Here, hand me some shirts, I'll start hanging.
We went with the two-story, brown house in Palmetto.
[Joe] We're within 35, 40 minutes of my mother,
we have a great outdoor space for the dogs to play in,
a fully fenced yard,
we have a great space for our working out upstairs.
I especially love that we have the space for working from home.
[Joe] And the laundry room...
Yes, and now I finally have a laundry room.
It's not in a basement, you know, it's not new construction,
but it's pretty modern and updated.
- It's in our price range... - Yeah, it's in your price range.
[Joe] It was listed for $475,000, and we paid $475,000.
So, I'm very happy with that.
[Jamie] We'll take you outside in the yard soon, okay?
We don't have, really, any of our furniture here yet,
it all has to come from New Jersey.
Um, been here about a week.
We're definitely gonna paint the house.
It just needs a little warming up, it's a little stark.
We had carpet cleaners come through,
and actually steam clean the carpets,
and they spent five or six hours getting all the grunge out,
so Jamie would be really happy.
[Jamie] Oh, go get it!
[Joe] I would've liked to have had a pool, initially.
I think we're gonna hold off.
But we need a hot tub,
- and there's plenty of space for that. - Yes, yes.
[Jamie] The noise doesn't bother me.
I've gotten used to it, it's kind of like white noise.
One of the big reasons I wanted to live somewhere sunny and warm
is so that I can be outside all the time.
I wanna drink my coffee outside in the morning,
I wanna have wine outside at night,
so I'm really looking forward to putting some nice,
like, chairs and couches out there with tables,
a cute little fire pit.
I just wanna be outside in our yard as much as possible.
And we want to string up the upper lights that we have...
Oh, yeah. We have twinkle lights that we're gonna put all around.
Oh, you got two in your mouth at one time?
I'm so excited we found the house that fit both our needs.
We're both really happy with our decision.
Yeah, Florida feels totally different than New Jersey.
Um, you know, the cost of living's much cheaper here.
No raking leaves...
- ...no shoveling snow... - Yeah, no snow!
No shoveling snow.