House Hunters Recap: Firewalking in New Mexico

House Hunters journeys to New Mexico to help shaman Lori find a place for retreats. Lori lives on a farm in Nashville, but wants a second home in New Mexico, specifically in a mountain community called Angel Fire. She wants to create a place for her women’s empowerment retreat.

Lori sees the home as somewhere the women can bond, heal, and firewalk together. Due to the success of her business and an inheritance, Lori has a budget of $1.5 million. She shares custody of her 8-year old daughter, Lily, so she wants the place to also double as an additional home for her.

Wish Lists

Lori invites her friend, and fellow shaman, Jocelyn with her to offer some input.

Hers: Lori wants a log style home, but Jocelyn suggests that she purchase a cabin style one. Lori wants lots of privacy, a flat yard, outdoor entertainment space, a stone fireplace, and an open kitchen. Having a large bathtub for shaman baths is also very important. She also wants a large master bedroom and multiple rooms for the retreat guests.

House #1, $1.48 million

This log style home is on 2 acres. It has three bedrooms, and three and a half bathrooms. It doesn’t have a bathtub, which sends red flags to Lori. The place has lots of large windows to bring in the natural light. It has the stone fireplace and a mainly open concept layout.

For Lori, another big issue with the space is that a neighbor’s home is facing Lori’s place, so he can see directly into her home. The real estate agent shows Lori an eagle, then points out that the home design is based on it. The home is shaped like an eagle.

House #2, $1.5 million

This home is a ranch style one, with three bedrooms, and three and a half bathrooms. It’s on 4 acres of land. The home has a stone fireplace, no visible neighbors, and large bedrooms. It also has plenty of baths, with three in total.

The area is also perfect for firewalking. A big issue with this place is that the only possible room for Lily has a door that leads out the home. There is also a large room that looks more like a lounge, but is supposed to be a bedroom. Lori must decide whether to turn it into an additional bedroom or turn it into a lounge.

House #3, $925,000

This ranch style home is on 1 acre. Despite the size, this home has plenty of bedrooms for guests. It has six bedrooms and five bathrooms, and a large deck for lounging. There is a neighbor close-by, and the only area to firewalk is by the woods.

It’s a little more outdated than the other two, shown by the wallpaper and  kitchen, but it has an open kitchen and three bathtubs.

Decision Time: The third home seems like it fits what Lori wants the best, because of all the space. Plus, with the money she saves with it, she can model it more to her desires. House #2 seemed okay, but it was clear that Lori wasn’t in love with it. When the eagle design is mentioned, it seems pretty obvious that Lori will love this one.

Lori confirms that eagles are her spirit animals. She picks…House #1.

She bought it for $1.419 million, instead of the asking $1.48 million. If she decides to do any renovations, she plans to add some bathtubs. Lori also found space for firewalking.