-Oh! That's a two story foyer! -Yes. See?
[narrator] Deria's determine that her first home outside DC be a showstopper.
-The detailing in here is just exquisite. -[man] It is grandiose.
Just like you like.
-This is gorgeous. -[agent] Crown molding all throughout.
[Deria] Ohh.
It looks very nice but everything kinda looks similar in here.
[narrator] Husband Dwaine's got his eyes set on a well-priced fixer
where he can take on project
There's a lotta room to do a lot of things here.
This has to be at least $50,000 to get into a useable state.
[narrator] But getting Deri on board with anything less than perfect
may not be realistic.
Oh, this is underwhelming.
Deria wants what she wants.
But I do think, because ther is compromise in marriage,
we can work together to figure something out.
It's just...
...uh, a little outdated.
[theme music playing]
[theme music ending]
Hey, guys!
[Deria] Hey, Andrew!
-[Dwaine] Hey, Andrew. -[Andrew] How's it goin'?
[Deria] It's going well.
-[Andrew] Yes! -This is perfect timing.
So we have to move out of our apartment
in less than four weeks.
So it's really important that we find a property quickly.
We're really fortunate because we have Andrew as our agent.
He's also a really good friend of ours.
Oh, is this champagne?
-It is champagne! -Well, you know every hour is happy hour.
We're currently renting a two bedroom, two bath penthouse
in downtown Silver Spring.
We live with our six-month-old, Denver.
He is such a joy, he's so much fun.
He's just... just the happie little boy.
[narrator] But now they don' want to renew the lease,
and need more space as well
I'm tripping over a toy dog.
I'm tripping over a bassinet.
We're polar opposites when it comes to this house search.
[Andrew] I'll trust you on that.
[Dwaine] We're on different ends of the spectrum.
But, funny thing is, Dwaine had four things on his list,
and you had 10 plus.
I mean, Andrew, I'm not being unreasonable.
Those are the things that I want, and I think I can get them.
I love 2-story homes,
especially with a grand foyer.
My grandparents actually owned a beautiful brick-front colonial that I loved.
I always aspired to have a home like theirs when I was growing up.
I thought it was the most beautiful thing.
We have a six-month-old who's soon to walk.
I think if we went with a 1-story open concept,
we can actually see everywhere he is in the home, right?
[Andrew] So, in terms of square footage, what are we looking at?
-At least 3,000. -Mmmm.
3,000? There's only 3 of us.
That's 1,000 square feet apiece.
[Deria] Um, for now. [laughs]
We are starting to get baby fever again.
So we will be lookin' forward to growing our family.
If we're looking to expand our family, we need the space.
We need to be able to adjust accordingly.
I also think we would disagree on location.
Deria has the luxury of working from home,
and I have to go into work every day.
I'm a school administrator.
I work for an education technology company.
[Dwaine] So lookin' for something a little closer to Washington D.C.
Um, also, having a basement.
Um, I have a pretty big sized family.
Somewhere to host them, you know, we can still have our space upstairs.
[Deria] A backyard is really important to us.
Because we host family a lot of the time,
we do need the additional space for them to be able to roam freely.
With enough research, being thorough enough,
I definitely think we can do something between $450,000 to $500,000.
That price range is just unreasonable.
I'd say at least $550,000 to get everything on our wish list
and our needs list.
$450,000 for what you want is kind of slim to none.
It may need a little work,
but I'm willing to figure out how to do that.
[Deria] I'm honestly lookin for something that's turnkey
I'd really like us to find something that can move our things in tomorrow.
We need to come together and try and find a common ground, okay?
[narrator] First is a home in Waldorf, Maryland.
A full hour commute for Dwaine,
and at a price he isn't sure about either.
Um, a little bit higher than, um, you know, I'd like to go.
Baby, that is reasonable.
Oh, this is nice.
This is a brick front colonial!
He knows what I like.
-What's goin' on? -[Deria] How are you?
So good to see you.
It's so good to see you as well!
-Hey, Dwaine, how you doin'? -Oh, this is nice.
Yeah, right?
[Deria] Oh, this is nice.
Now, with Deria,
this home has all of the bells and whistles.
From the grandiose, the 2-story foyer, the open concept,
there are a few sacrifices with this home
that I feel like Dwaine may pull away from.
But there's a separate basement for Dwaine and his family
when they come to visit,
which I know that he really, really, really wants.
[Dwaine] It's not the 1-story traditional home I'm lookin' for.
I love the big window!
-[Andrew] Right? -[Deria] Oh, my god, but this paint color
is purple and beige?
Yeah, so the paint color is a little bit off.
But, um, you know, to paint a house this size,
may run you around, like, maybe $4,000-ish.
[Deria] Okay, that's not too bad.
This is the staircase, uh, you've been talking about.
-Oh, yes, it's a 2-story foyer! -See!
-[Deria] Oh, my gosh. -[Andrew] I knew you would like it.
-[Deria] Yeah, this is great, this is great. -That's a little high though.
I mean, high is good, we can greet the guests
when they arrive from upstairs.
Or we can get Denver a parachute.
[Deria] Oh, my gosh. [laug]
Oh, does this count as floor to ceiling windows?
I mean, it's taller than me.
Slightly, slightly, yeah.
So it feels like it's floor to ceiling, okay.
Beautiful, beautiful view.
Oh, this is nice.
I love how open this kitchen is.
I especially love that I can see Denver in the den,
like, while I'm cooking.
-[Andrew] Okay. -Um, it's just...
...uh, a little outdated.
[Dwaine] Now, the cabinets are a little, uh, light.
It seems like they may start to look dirty,
so maybe we can darken those.
We can, you know, kinda prioritize what we need to do.
Yeah, how much would that run us, Andrew?
Uh, I mean to paint the cabinets,
I would say probably about, like, $2,000.
I'm not crazy about having the hardwood and then the ceramic tile,
-and now the carpet. -Okay.
How much would this cost to bring in the hardwood,
maybe, throughout the kitchen and then also the den?
Maybe, like, $3,000?
Oh, that's not crazy.
Okay, the math is going up.
[Andrew] Watch this.
-Oh, gas, that's good. -Oh, yeah!
I was worried about cleaning up wood and everything like that.
-[Andrew] And then we have a bonus area for you. -[Deria] Oh, my goodness!
-I didn't even see how expansive this was. -[Andrew] Yes!
[Deria] This is beautiful.
[Dwaine] And I can definitely see some yoga, some meditation,
some natural sunlight.
Uh, definitely good for your mental health.
[Deria] Oh, this is underwhelming.
-[Dwaine] A little small for Denver. -[Andrew] Okay.
I don't know if we could play catch,
or even play a little tag with each other, anything like that.
[Andrew] Yeah, you know, so the backyard is kind of on the smaller side,
but low maintenance as well
[Deria] Okay.
I just wish it would be a little bigger.
[Deria] I love the crown molding across the middle of the room.
And then, again, with the paint color,
this... peach-yellowish is not great.
[Andrew] But that's a small fix though, right?
[Deria] Yeah, I mean, I'm ju thinking about all the wall
that we're now going to have to paint.
-I think we've seen six so far. -Yeah.
[Andrew] Now, I did call this a four bedroom from the listing,
however, this basement includes two full bedrooms,
-closets and a full bathroom - [Dwaine] Wow.
Six bedrooms for the three of us?
-Is that really necessary? -[Deria] I mean, well.
-We'll have the space to expand our family. -Possibly, five, uh-huh.
And then we'll have a place for the nanny to stay.
And your family always comes to visit.
Yeah, but I mean, my family's big
but not this big, come on now.
[Deria] I love how open this is!
-[Andrew] Yes. -[Deria] Oh, and look!
-I can see my guests as soon as they arrive. -Yes!
I'm here.
-[Andrew chuckles] -[Deria laughs] This is awesome!
[Dwaine] This house looks huge.
There's only three of us,
so having something that's almost 3,800 square feet
doesn't really make sense to me.
That's over 1,000 feet per person and it's not really a necessity.
I do like that it doesn't just go right into the bedrooms
or into the bathroom.
Maybe we can use it for Denver's room or...
This bedroom is facing the street,
which means there's be a lot of noise that he might hear which would disturb him.
So, maybe there's another bedroom up here.
There's actually three othe bedroom's, right?
-[Andrew] Mmm-hmm. Yes, there is. -[Deria] Okay.
-More paint! -[Andrew] More paint.
[Deria] Wow, okay, so cobalt blue.
-Yeah. -It's hideous.
So I am willing to learn how to do some of the projects in the home,
but there are so many.
There's something to do in every single room.
This house listed at $530,00 which is over what I would have spent.
So I can only see that price rising up even higher.
All right, so let's see the owner's suite.
-[Deria] Oh, this is beautiful. -[Andrew] Yes!
[Dwaine] Yeah, this... this is pretty big.
-[Andrew] I knew that you would like this. -[Deria] Yeah!
-This has four large windows, which is really nice. -[Andrew] Yes.
As well as a sitting area.
[Deria] Oh, yeah, look at this!
So, we can fit, what, maybe a king bed?
Yeah, we can definitely fit a king bed.
Um, nice area for coffee in the morning.
[Andrew] The flooring is actually porcelain tile.
[Deria] Oh, this is beautiful!
I love the design.
[Dwaine] Yeah, it's pretty big.
[Deria] I love the house, I love the brick front.
-I love the layout of it. -[Andrew] Okay.
It's just there a lot of things that I think we'll need to fix.
Like, so the flooring, you know, the kitchen cabinet colors,
the colors of the walls.
[Dwaine] I'm kinda disappointed that the backyard's a little smal
I'm also a little overwhelmed by the space.
Not really sure that we need six bedrooms.
Again, there's only three of us.
Just don't know.
[narrator] They're now heade to see a less expensive ranc with a large yard,
perfect for Dwaine.
-Dwaine, I found you a special one. -Andrew!
I like it, I like it so far,
but what spilled on the floors?
[Dwaine] Dinner was pretty good.
It was a little spicy.
-But it was pretty good. -I mean, spicy is good.
Spicy is good but I don't know if it really compares to my air fried wings.
Your air fryer wings are good but they need a little bit of seasoning.
[narrator] Today, they're seeing
a well-priced single-family home in Dunkirk.
[Dwaine] Oh, it's a ranch-style home
[Deria] Yeah, I'm not crazy about the ranch style.
Well, you know I love 'em.
[Andrew] Now this is a Dwaine home.
But I was hoping that Deria would find some nice things
that would make it her house as well.
So, I'm trying to kinda find that common ground,
to find a perfect home that's gonna work with them.
[Deria] I do like the color of the shutters though.
Wow, this is a really big lawn!
[Dwaine] Definitely some nice plants.
[both] Hello!
Hi, Andrew!
-Hey, what's goin' on? -So good to see you.
So good to see you as well.
-Andrew, how you doin'? -Dwaine, I found you a special one.
I like it, I like it so far.
But what spilled on the floors?
Um, you know, so the floors are a little bit vintage,
but that's a minor fix, you know?
Well, let's have a look into the living room, right
So, you have brand new windows,
um, the floors are in great condition.
[Deria] It's really open.
But I'm not crazy about this ceiling.
You can definitely have the ceiling shaved.
I would say, on average, it may cost maybe, like, 500 bucks.
Okay, yeah this seems very dated.
I'm not crazy about the white appliances
but those are a simple swap.
What concerns me more is just the finish of the cabinets,
the flooring difference.
I see this floor is honey oak,
while this one is... I don't even know what color this is.
[Andrew] Okay.
Now, what I would say is that the price point of $475,000
we would have some room in our price range
to make these fixes, right?
[Deria] That is true.
I feel like there is some resistance from Deria.
Deria wants what she wants.
But I do think, because there is compromise in marriage,
and we really are a team, that we can work together to figure something out.
[Andrew] Here we have a dini area which could be a breakfast nook.
-[Deria] Okay. -I love the space.
Uh, it's open right here to these two doors,
we can walk right outside.
[Andrew] Half bath, that is right off the kitchen.
[Deria] Yeah, this is a nic size, I like it.
[Andrew] And now we have a special touch.
-Oh, look at this. - [Dwaine] wow.
[Deria] Okay, so this is nic
I can see myself sitting out here,
enjoying a glass of champagne.
Staying safe from the mosquitoes.
[Deria] But it looks like there are some rips in the screens here.
Oh, wow, this is huge!
Definitely would need a gate, especially with the area back here.
Um, yeah, but there's enough space
for Denver and I to run around, play catch.
Um, we can host family back here,
especially on this huge deck
-Nice great area, too. -[Deria] I love that picture
[Andrew] So you have two guest rooms
-on the right side of the home. -[Deria] Okay.
Oh, now this is a great size room.
[Andrew] Yeah, right?
Love how the deck is situated right off the main bedroom.
This would be beautiful in the morning for us
to go have our cup of coffee on the deck.
Or, you know, Denver wakes us up in the morning and wants to go play
we can go right to the back of the yard.
And here is the ensuite bath.
[Deria] 'Kay.
Um, it's a little dated.
[Dwaine] It's a little small
Yeah, I'm not even sure tha you could fit all your makeu in here.
We may have to split bathrooms,
this may have to be your bathroom
and I would have to take the hallway bathroom.
[Deria] Ooh, these stairs are pretty steep.
[Dwaine] We'll have to be careful with, uh, Denver going down these steps.
[both] Ooh.
[Deria] Um, I still see a bunch of electrical cords
and, um, it just doesn't look finished.
[Andrew] Well, you know, if you swapped out the flooring,
you know, there's some light painting, some drywall,
you can definitely make your own, right?
[Deria] Um, I guess?
I do have to say though,
this does look like a place where they film scary movies.
[Andrew and Deria laugh]
[Deria] This has to be at least $50,000 to get into a usable state.
This is something we can actually make ours.
[Deria] I think it's really spacious.
I think there's a lot of natural light that comes in.
The rooms that are painted and are usable look great.
But there are some very dated features of this home
that, I guess, add to the "character"
but for us would be costly fixes.
This is definitely a home we would have to fully gut and renovate.
[Dwaine] But, again, if we're talking $475,000..
...it's way less than $600,000,
and we have some room to do some things.
It's a lot of potential here.
[Deria] I'm not sure.
[narrator] Andrew's found a third option
with all the upgrades and a great location.
If they can compromise on shared walls and noise.
[Deria] Oh, my gosh, it's so loud.
What... What's the price on this property?
So it's $620,000.
Okay, $620,000 is, uh, as you know,
a little higher than what I want to spend.
[narrator] With the clock ticking on their rental,
today the couple is seeing what Andrew thinks
is a turnkey townhouse in D. they can move right into
It is closer to D.C.
-My commute would only be 20 to 30 minutes. -Mmm-hmm.
Um, so we'll have to see if... if it's worth it.
Oh, my gosh, it's so loud!
It is really loud.
[Deria] Wow, there's a lot of construction happening over here.
[Dwaine] There is, so that's maybe something we'll have to deal with.
-Hi! -Hey, what's goin' on?
-Good to see you as always. -So good to see you!
-Nice outfit, good lord. -Thank you.
-What's goin' on, Dwaine? How you doin'? -Hi Andrew.
-Sup? -This is nice.
It is very nice, right?
-And new! -And it's new, it's just what you want.
It's fabulous.
I think you will like it.
She wants grandiose.
She wants a modern feel.
We're in a competitive market right now.
So I'm trying to coach them through that,
to let them know that you're not going to get all your wants and needs,
but find a good blend between the two.
-Okay. -Come on, let's go!
[Deria] Oh, I love the hardwood stairs.
[Andrew] Yeah! And you'll find that it's consistent all throughout the house.
And look at this.
-Tray ceilings. -[Deria] Oh, my goodness.
Tray ceilings in the dining room.
-This is gorgeous! -[Andrew] Crown molding all throughout.
-[Deria] Oh, so nice. -[Andrew] You can definitel host here.
Looks very nice, but everything kind of looks similar in here.
Yeah, it actually feels a little sterile,
but I would love to see more.
Maybe there are more colors that are incorporate throughout the home?
So we have an awesome chef's kitchen, right.
-[Deria] Wow, okay. -To make those great dishes.
This is such an amazing size.
[Dwaine] For hosting having friends and family over.
It's beautiful, it's a new space.
And also it's close to his job.
Originally, I wasn't fond of a town home,
But this actually reminded me a lot of a colonial,
especially the arches on the outside, the brick front.
And I love the design on the stairs.
-Check that out, right? -[Deria] Oh, this is gorgeous!
[Dwaine] Yeah, it looks nice
[Deria] These are little details that I feel really give this home character.
[Andrew] Absolutely, yeah.
I feel like a lot of homes with character are older homes.
This is a modern home with character,
which I don't think you'd see normally.
-[Deria] Very spacious, very elegant. -[Andrew] Yes.
[Dwaine] A lot of natural light, this is great.
[Deria] Ooh, double-sinks, babe!
-Yes. -Ooh, nice. Nice.
We can actually share this bathroom.
[Deria] This is a great size, Andrew.
[Andrew] Perfect!
Now I have a special treat for you, Deria.
Here is your closet.
-[gasps] Oh, my gosh, it's a walk in. -Yes, a walk in!
[Dwaine] Wow, this is almost the siz of another bedroom!
Maybe we can put Denver in here.
-[Deria] Yeah... Oh. [laughs] -[laughs]
-[Andrew] Here you have the first guest bedroom. - [Deria] Okay.
[Andrew] Which could possibly be Denver's room.
Here you have bedroom number two.
[Dwaine] Uh, the size is goo but for Denver and all his activity...
...it's a little smaller.
So this could be a great office,
and the other room could be his bedroom.
Yeah, that's a good idea.
Is there a basement here?
-There is a lower level with a washroom. -[Deria] Awesome.
[Dwaine] It looks pretty spacious so far.
[Andrew] Check it out, right
[Dwaine] Oh, it even has a wet bar? Okay.
[Andrew] Absolutely.
-[Dwaine] This is a private bedroom. -[Andrew] Yeah!
[Dwaine] Wow, okay, this is a great size.
-Oh, and this bathroom is really large. -Yes.
Oh, this is a full bathroom.
It is a full bathroom.
Oh, this would be great for my family, yes.
[Deria] Okay.
[Andrew] Drumroll in Washington D.C.
- You have a nice sized backyard. - [Dwaine] Wow.
[Andrew] How rare is that?
[Deria] Wow, this is really rare, actuall
-Exactly. -And you have room to play around with Denver.
This is a pretty nice size, but you know, I have a lot of kids in my family,
so just thinking about hosting my family.
[Andrew] How many kids?
I can't even count, there's a new one every day.
[Deria] I think this is a beautiful space.
I love that it's new construction,
it's move-in ready.
-It has everything that we need. -[Andrew] Okay.
It's way above what I want to spend.
But considering the commute, it may be worth it.
But also, even though it's move-in ready...
...and it's really nice,
it doesn't really have the touch that we would necessarily put into it.
[Deria] All we would have to do is move our stuff inside, right?
-[Andrew] Yeah! -[Deria] But I think it lack that warmness.
that I'm looking for personally.
Just very blah.
Everything is grey.
[narrator] With their apartment lease almost up,
Deria and Dwaine need to figure out somewhere to buy, and fast.
[Deria] The brick front colonial,
that was $530,000.
The commute is still kinda long.
It's almost over an hour long.
And there's only three of us and we would have 1,000 square feet apiece?
I don't know if that's really necessary.
I know, but we have to think about the future babies.
So we talk about expanding our family,
having the additional space would be really helpful.
But one part of this space I do like is the basement area.
The $530,000 though.
With all of the work we would already have to put into it,
I'm not really sure it's worth it,
[Deria] The other home we saw was the raised ranch
Now you know I like that price.
That's right within the range I wanna spend.
Yeah, but given the amount of work we would have to do to that house...
[Dwaine] Yeah, but that's something we build,
put our own imprint on.
We could actually grow in that home.
That backyard was huge.
Denver could play back there I could play with him.
The backyard was beautiful, but the basement was tragic.
So next is the new build townhouse.
[Dwaine] Well, that home is pretty expensive.
And the commute...
...20 to 30 minutes, you really can't beat that.
[Deria] It was just so loud.
Also, it may wake Denver up.
It did give me a hotel feel
And it didn't really feel as warm as I would like.
[Deria] Yeah, but on the plus side it was brand new.
I mean, from the countertop to the flooring,
everything was sparkling clean,
so it was literally move-in ready.
Meaning we would have to do nothing. [laughs]
[doorbell rings]
[Deria] Okay, Denver.
[high-pitched] Are you ready to see your new house?
We choose the 2002 brick front colonial.
[Dwaine] I had to bend a little bit but you know...
[Deria] I think Dwaine did a good job
of trying to find something that met both of our tastes,
and this definitely did that.
So the home was listed at $530,000,
but we ended up buying it for $547,000.
[Dwaine] With the market being so crazy
we had to do something to give ourselves a competitive edge.
And they're starting to prime these walls, so that's good to see.
Yes, this is gonna look great when it's done.
I wanted a move-in ready house.
I didn't wanna do any work.
But with this home,
I did make a little compromise.
But we're not moving in quite yet.
There are some cosmetic upgrades we'd like to make to the space before we settle.
We'll have the carpets replaced, the walls painted
And then there are some updates that will wait
until after we get settled into the home.
So we'll definitely have to put some baby gates up, but that's okay.
Yeah, we know he's really active.
Yeah.
What I learned about Deria, even more so,
-is that she's very determined and very persistent. -[chuckles]
[clears throat] Why do you laugh?
-Sorry. -I'm about to spin it.
[Deria] It's true.
[Dwaine] While I am practical and simple, she has a great taste,
and sometimes we do need to add a little flair to what we're doing.
and I appreciate that she brings that into my life.
[high-pitched] We can put your crib over there, right?
All your toys on the floor, right?
Yes, this is amazing!