Robyn Brown: She wanted the family, but got stuck with the man.

[Meowwww]

Yes!   Our theme:

be macaroni

be flowers

be paying our bills

[Rabbit Hutch]

I understood that a business that doesn't succeed (hasn't turned a profit) within the first 5 years has to be dissolved or reconfigured, somehow?  Did MSWC reached the 5-year mark?  Could someone with some experience please clarify what the IRS rules are in this area? 

[deirdra]

If your business was unprofitable for longer than 5 years, then the IRS can prohibit you from claiming your business losses on your taxes. After you claim a loss for three of the five years, the IRS will classify your business as a hobby.  You don't have to dissolve the business, but you cannot write off any losses. So there is no reason to keep going unless you can afford to lose money every year.

Was it Christine or Janelle who said Robyn's idea sounded like a "hobby" before MSWC even started?

Edited August 14, 2019 by deirdra

[Teafortwo]

11 minutes ago, deirdra said:

If your business was unprofitable for longer than 5 years, then the IRS can prohibit you from claiming your business losses on your taxes. After you claim a loss for three of the five years, the IRS will classify your business as a hobby.  You don't have to dissolve the business, but you cannot write off any losses. So there is no reason to keep going unless you can afford to lose money every year.

Was it Christine or Janelle who said Robyn's idea sounded like a "hobby" before MSWC even started?

Janelle called it a "hobby business" - but this was before she took up coaching and selling RE as her own hobbies.

[deirdra]

Interesting tidbit I just read: beginning with the 2018 tax year, the IRS no longer allows people to deduct expenses from hobby earnings. Other than Meri, does anyone in that fambly have what qualifies as a business?  

[laurakaye]

8 hours ago, Rabbit Hutch said:

I understood that a business that doesn't succeed (hasn't turned a profit) within the first 5 years has to be dissolved or reconfigured, somehow?  Did MSWC reached the 5-year mark?  Could someone with some experience please clarify what the IRS rules are in this area? 

I'm stunned that overpriced joolry designed by a ZZ-list celeb didn't sell like hotcakes.  I mean, who doesn't want to wear a charm necklace created from the singular mind of Robyn Brown, with baubles that impart deep wisdom such as "Be Kind!  Be Unique!  Be Stealth!  Be Sneaky!  Be the Real Wife!"  Stunned, I tell you.

[Irate Panda]

A few things:  Do we know what each of the Browns made on the show and do the Brown minor children get paid as well? If so, would Robyn and Kody have direct access to use her children’s money to rent a home because she’s providing shelter “for them”?  Meri is the only one it seems actually making money, would Meri’s money actually have gone to the family pot to help buy Robyn’s house or is it secretly squirreled away for Mariah’s avocado toast and wet-n-wild eyebrow pencil?

Edited August 14, 2019 by Irate Panda

[laurakaye]

Good questions - do the kid Brownies get a big share of the cash when they turn 18, based on how long they've been filmed?  Do the young kids get money put into a trust, where I'm sure Kody could get his mitts on it if need be?  

I remember in the early days, there was a fam'ly money pot, and (supposedly) the adults determined who got what amount.  But there is no way that Meri is putting her LuLaNo/B&B cash into the family bank account.  She is using it to fund her trips to Disney, her spray-tan sessions, and all those cruises.  I'm sure that doesn't cause any strife in the harmonious Brown clan.

[Sandy W]

Judging from the way the conversation went re. funding for the purchase of the BnB, I assume Meri retains all of her LLR money for herself.  When she asked for a loan for the downpayment, it seemed that there was an inquiry from one of them that if they loaned her the money for the downpayment, would they have an interest in the property and the answer was a resounding NO!!!  Meri then announced that they wouldn't be seeing much of her around (presumably because she was about to embroil herself in a full out LLR campaign to raise the funds, which she would be directing to HER BnB.)  Around the same time, Meri's mother sold her own home and she replaced Annie, Christine's mom, as the intended hostess at Parowan, leading me to assume that Bonnie invested the equity from her home at least partially into funding the BnB.

So much for one big happy family, I seem to recall that it was an inheritance Janelle received that funded the purchase of the home in Lehi.  As it turned out, I think that Lehi sold for what was owing on the mortgage, so Janelle's investment was lost, but she did provide them a place to live before the windfall of TLC income.   

[deirdra]

12 minutes ago, Sandy W said:

So much for one big happy family, I seem to recall that it was an inheritance Janelle received that funded the purchase of the home in Lehi.  As it turned out, I think that Lehi sold for what was owing on the mortgage, so Janelle's investment was lost, but she did provide them a place to live before the windfall of TLC income.   

I remember it the same way.  And Meri wasn't richer than the rest when she insisted on her 5-bedroom LV home with (non-alcoholic) wetbar and 4-yrs of out-of-state private college for Pudge. She believed that she & Mariah deserved the same amount of $$ as her sisterwives' famblies of 6.25-7.25. 

Edited August 14, 2019 by deirdra

[Sandy W]

11 minutes ago, deirdra said:

I remember it the same way.  And Meri wasn't richer than the rest when she insisted on her 5-bedroom LV home with (non-alcoholic) wetbar and 4-yrs of out-of-state private college for Pudge. She believed that she & Mariah deserved the same amount of $$ as her sisterwives' famblies of 6.25-7.25. 

Yes!  Aside from the income from TLC, Janelle was the only one employed with a consistent income at that point.  Meri's employment with 'at risk kids' was vague and never expanded on, it seems that she was let go from that position because of their exposure on the show and whatever agency employed her, felt that it wasn't compatible. 

They did have income from the other MLM program, LIV water, but the only fact I know about that scheme is that it provided the means for JO to infiltrate the family.  So in effect, Meri did unintentionally provide financially to the family, without the catfish storyline, the show would have been dead after the third season.

[laurakaye]

1 hour ago, Sandy W said:

So much for one big happy family, I seem to recall that it was an inheritance Janelle received that funded the purchase of the home in Lehi.  As it turned out, I think that Lehi sold for what was owing on the mortgage, so Janelle's investment was lost, but she did provide them a place to live before the windfall of TLC income.   

1 hour ago, Sandy W said:

They did have income from the other MLM program, LIV water, but the only fact I know about that scheme is that it provided the means for JO to infiltrate the family.  So in effect, Meri did unintentionally provide financially to the family, without the catfish storyline, the show would have been dead after the third season.

Now this is all kinds of juicy!  I never thought about it like this before.

Janelle's sacrificing of her inhertance gave the big Brown family shelter, and she subsequently lost that investment to the Lehi mortgage, which COULD have caused her to be extremely resentful when Meri la-de-da'd her way into Christine's Vegas "library" for the meeting where Meri demanded that the fambly write her a check for 40 grand for the B&B that she HAD TO HAVE RIGHT NOW.  But the rest of the fambly was like, "Can we be partners?  No?  So find your own money, honey.  Kthxbai!"  BUT - had it not been for the catfish fiasco, SW would not have been on the air these past few seasons, generating money for THE FAMBLY.

So - Meri's pain brought cash to every single Brown in the form of TLC paychecks for all.  And yet they denied Meri money for her dream house.  I wonder how much of all this was simmering and bubbling under the surface when Meri asked for the money - i.e. "if it weren't for the fact that you divorced and shunned me, Kody, forcing me into my online shenanigans - we'd have been bankrupt by now."  This is fascinating stuff, y'all!

There are so many layers to peel from the rotten onion that is the Brown family.  Too bad we will never see it.  They'd rather show us bathtub birthin', Kody's hairstyle du jour and stupid dance montages on repeat.

[xwordfanatik]

"Rotten onion," LOL.  Onion = tears.  Is that why Queenie and Meri are always crying and wiping eye boogers?  It fits!

Robyn's next rental will be bigger and even more expensive, and now she'll want an elevator like Meri had.  

[DakotaJustice]

3 hours ago, Irate Panda said:

A few things:  Do we know what each of the Browns made on the show and do the Brown minor children get paid as well? If so, would Robyn and Kody have direct access to use her children’s money to rent a home because she’s providing shelter “for them”?  Meri is the only one it seems actually making money, would Meri’s money actually have gone to the family pot to help buy Robyn’s house or is it secretly squirreled away for Mariah’s avocado toast and wet-n-wild eyebrow pencil?

How much the Browns are paid is a deep dark secret. There are all kinds of numbers bandied about all the way up to $180k per adult per episode, which is ludicrous. 

They aren't considered actors and aren't in the actors' union, so they don't get those union set minimums. Discovery Network will fight tooth and nail to make sure that doesn't happen, and I don't think any of the reality "stars" will ever attempt to try to become "real actors" knowing that having to pay union minimums per person (which I think is around $933-1000 per day per person) and also pay the production staff industry wages, and have to pay residuals (the Browns don't get a penny from all those streams on TLCGo and Hulu) would for all intents and purposes end the gravy train as it would eliminate the profit margin for the Networks. 

I still feel they negotiate a lump amount per season for the entire family, with extra payments to the adult children not in the household but involved in a major story line (ie Mariah, Maddie, Mykelti) but obviously it's not that much, or at least not enough to keep them from having to shill MLM crap or in Logan's case, to exchange for his private life.

[Rabbit Hutch]

On 8/13/2019 at 9:49 PM, deirdra said:

If your business was unprofitable for longer than 5 years, then the IRS can prohibit you from claiming your business losses on your taxes. After you claim a loss for three of the five years, the IRS will classify your business as a hobby.  You don't have to dissolve the business, but you cannot write off any losses. So there is no reason to keep going unless you can afford to lose money every year.

Was it Christine or Janelle who said Robyn's idea sounded like a "hobby" before MSWC even started?

Thanks for your info, Deirdra, good stuff!  😊

[YupItsMe]

Have we seen Robyn or heard anything from her lately?

[DakotaJustice]

1 hour ago, YupItsMe said:

Have we seen Robyn or heard anything from her lately?

I think she's purposely keeping a low profile.

[Lovecat]

7 hours ago, DakotaJustice said:

I think she's purposely keeping a low profile.

Hard to do, with that chin. HEY-o!  I’ll be here all week. Try the veal.

[AZChristian]

10 hours ago, DakotaJustice said:

I think she's purposely keeping a low profile.

It's kinder from her point of view to read posts about "where is Robyn" than it is to read posts that say, "Why does she need that huge house, and how can they afford the rent, and is MSWC officially out of business?"

[Irate Panda]

I wonder when it will be Robyn’s turn to file bankruptcy?

[Meowwww]

3 hours ago, Irate Panda said:

I wonder when it will be Robyn’s turn to file bankruptcy?

Soon.  

[MV713]

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7443831/Sister-Wives-stars-Kody-Robyn-Brown-plunk-900-000-Arizona-home.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

[DakotaJustice]

Yeah, no favoritism there. 

I guess Janelle will be all passive-aggressive about it when it comes up in a future episode.

[LilWharveyGal]

5 minutes ago, MV713 said:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7443831/Sister-Wives-stars-Kody-Robyn-Brown-plunk-900-000-Arizona-home.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

Uhuh.  Christine's purchase (because no rentals in Flagstaff accept pets 🙄) was already billed as the future guest house for adult kids and grandkids visiting Plyg Pastures*.  I wonder how they'll spin the need for buying this house?  

* Which we all know is never going to happen.  I'm just playing along.

[MV713]

Just now, LilWharveyGal said:

Uhuh.  Christine's purchase (because no rentals in Flagstaff accept pets 🙄) was already billed as the future guest house for adult kids and grandkids visiting Plyg Pastures*.  I wonder how they'll spin the need for buying this house?  

* Which we all know is never going to happen.  I'm just playing along.

I read they are having issues filming in the rentals due to no filming clauses.  Perhaps one way to spin having to buy another home. But where do they get all their money??????

[laurakaye]

*GASP* Robyn's got a WET BAR.

Tee hee, bring on the next season and pass the popcorn and the cheap merlot this way, please!

[FreemefromTV]

21 minutes ago, MV713 said:

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-7443831/Sister-Wives-stars-Kody-Robyn-Brown-plunk-900-000-Arizona-home.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490

Where are these people getting approved for loans like this? 

We just bought a house (small and old) in the SF Bay Area and it took years of saving and two gainfully employed adults! 

WHERE is the money coming from?????

[Joan of Argh]

I thought Robyn was scared of trees and fire... 

That place is surrounded with trees right up to the door step.

[smarty]

HOW???? HOW do they afford a $900,000 house on top of the empty lots they bought and Christine's two houses (she still has her house in Las Vegas not sold).

[deirdra]

I'm envisaging that filming on Prairiedog Plague Flats will involve the Persecuted Plygs pretending they are being driven off the land because they are plygs wanting to build another Plyg Palace, when in fact the land is being reclaimed by the developer and the city for non-payment of the mortgage payments and the property taxes.

Edited September 9, 2019 by deirdra

[Irate Panda]

Let me get this straight... Robyn and Kody get this monstrosity, even though they have a combined credit score of 3.  Christine has 2 houses because Mona has said she had thumb on the pulse of the Vegas real estate market, and Arizona landlords hate pets.  Meri has the house of luluhellno horrors, and is probably financing the avocado industry thanks to Mariah’s addiction. Janelle’s house is stockpiled with canned cabbage and 8000lbs of nutmeg, and they all share some dirt littered with dead prairie dogs. Kootie, I’d like a PowerPoint presentation on the fambily finances for the season premiere.

[smarty]

Interesting, this new house they purchased is very close to their lots on Coyote Pass.  Almost backs up to it.  Does this mean they are giving up on building on the lots?

[DakotaJustice]

29 minutes ago, Irate Panda said:

Let me get this straight... Robyn and Kody get this monstrosity, even though they have a combined credit score of 3.  Christine has 2 houses because Mona has said she had thumb on the pulse of the Vegas real estate market, and Arizona landlords hate pets.  Meri has the house of luluhellno horrors, and is probably financing the avocado industry thanks to Mariah’s addiction. Janelle’s house is stockpiled with canned cabbage and 8000lbs of nutmeg, and they all share some dirt littered with dead prairie dogs. Kootie, I’d like a PowerPoint presentation on the fambily finances for the season premiere.

I think you overestimated R&K's credit score by about 2.87. 

That said... Well I guess if my ex MIL can be accepted for credit cards when she's elderly, living on Social Security, and with no assets to speak of...I guess anyone can buy a home.

Edited September 9, 2019 by DakotaJustice

[DakotaJustice]

32 minutes ago, smarty2020 said:

Interesting, this new house they purchased is very close to their lots on Coyote Pass.  Almost backs up to it.  Does this mean they are giving up on building on the lots?

Maybe instead of having to hook up into the electrical, they'll just run long extension cords from each house single-wide to the $900k monstrosity.

Edited September 9, 2019 by DakotaJustice

[Pickleinthemiddle]

31 minutes ago, Irate Panda said:

Let me get this straight... Robyn and Kody get this monstrosity, even though they have a combined credit score of 3.  Christine has 2 houses because Mona has said she had thumb on the pulse of the Vegas real estate market, and Arizona landlords hate pets.  Meri has the house of luluhellno horrors, and is probably financing the avocado industry thanks to Mariah’s addiction. Janelle’s house is stockpiled with canned cabbage and 8000lbs of nutmeg, and they all share some dirt littered with dead prairie dogs. Kootie, I’d like a PowerPoint presentation on the fambily finances for the season premiere.

My guess is they have enough money to put a down payment and make the payment every month.  I think she is showing how much she can get over the others.  She doesn't need all that extra room.  I know large families that live in less than 1,500 sq. ft.  Not easy, but it can be done.  More so that in less than 5 years all the older ones will be gone.  Unless they all go to college in Flagstaff.  

[lettsjetts]

Here is the listing:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/9508-W-Hashknife-Trl-Flagstaff-AZ-86001/90145576_zpid/

[Joan of Argh]

Check out that walk in closet with a door straight into the forest.... Weird.

Edited September 9, 2019 by Joan of Argh

[CouchTater]

For a $900k property, it's awfully underwhelming.  I'm trying not to judge it too much, because a big part of it is differing tastes (or lack thereof), but the paint color choices, inside and out, some of the finishes, the weird exit door in the walk-in closet that @Joan of Argh pointed out....all are ugh.

Except the walk-in closet.  I'll take that, minus the door.

Edited September 9, 2019 by CouchTater

[RootyBoots]

Holy crap, NO idea where they grow a money tree but I want one!

Per online county records they dropped $222,500 towards the purchase price!!

[Roslyn]

I agree with DakotaJustice.  Queen Robyn sitting atop her hill in her castle will look down on the shanty town Angelz Singink in the distance covered with single wides, Tom Green style....

[xwordfanatik]

DGIH, WHERE are these slapnuts finding this kind of money?  Of course, Queenie must have the biggest and most expensive house.  After all, she had to give up her 7,000 square foot abode.  Almost a million dollars and that's doable?  How?

[CouchTater]

Do *we think that the fact that 2 wives have purchased home in Flagstaff means that they've given up on building on the land they bought last year?

*FYI, that's the royal, Primetimer we.

[HighlandWarriorGrl]

I guess I don’t understand how that woman can’t live in anything less than a mansion, and doesn’t seem to care (but neither does Kootie) about the strife and hard feeling it will cause with the other sister wives.  You know, she’s the one always harping on how everything has to be done for the good of the fambly.  How does her living in a mansion that is twice the size and twice the price of anyone else’s house help the fambly?

I guess Robochin and Kootie don’t even bother to hide the favoritism anymore and I wonder at what point the other three get together and tell Kootie that he better rein it in, or they are leaving and his show gets cancelled.  Jeez, I would never live the way they do, but at this point, I think I would rather move in with Meri and clean her house than let R and K humiliate me anymore on national television.

[Galloway Cave]

I wonder if they sold any of the lots for the down.

[Twopper]

2 hours ago, Pickleinthemiddle said:

My guess is they have enough money to put a down payment and make the payment every month.  I think she is showing how much she can get over the others.  She doesn't need all that extra room.  I know large families that live in less than 1,500 sq. ft.  Not easy, but it can be done.  More so that in less than 5 years all the older ones will be gone.  Unless they all go to college in Flagstaff.  

Wow!! I just looked at the pictures.  I doubt he bought it furnished so I am wondering how nice it will look with Robyn's furniture or if she got new stuff.   Also I wonder how much the heating bills will be for it, but I guess if she could afford the utilities on the larger house she rented then she can pay these.   Drat, I forgot to note the number of baths and bedrooms.  If I were Janelle and Christine I would be grumpy about it, but I guess being a good sister wife means not resenting another wife getting preferential treatment.   

[Shieldmaiden]

55 minutes ago, Joan of Argh said:

Check out that walk in closet with a door straight into the forest.... Weird.

And the PURPLE countertop in the second bathroom!!!

[ginger90]

Interesting price history:

[Galloway Cave]

So the house was under contract back in June and it took almost 3 months to close. The down payment is driving me bonkers. If they are, in fact, filming a new season, wonder if that money went towards the new house (of COURSE they didn't hold back anything for taxes).

They are such stupid people. $225,500 could go towards three nice manufactured homes for Prairie Plague Flats. They have been exposed- they never had any intention of building out there and are probably just banking on land values to increase before selling. It was all for a story line on their show. Crossing fingers this all blows up in their faces.

[Irate Panda]

3 hours ago, Pickleinthemiddle said:

My guess is they have enough money to put a down payment and make the payment every month.  I think she is showing how much she can get over the others.  She doesn't need all that extra room.  I know large families that live in less than 1,500 sq. ft.  Not easy, but it can be done.  More so that in less than 5 years all the older ones will be gone.  Unless they all go to college in Flagstaff.  

Oh, I don’t doubt Robyn and Meri try to get the most they can (throw Kody in there too), I guess I just don’t see how they have as much money as they do.  Honestly, my husband comes from money and we don’t just buy house after house and we don’t have close to 20 children.  Of course, we do pay our bills promptly on time, so I guess I’m really questioning how they are qualifying on multiples mortgages and business lines of credit. Janelle’s and Christine’s homes are modest enough, but aren’t they keeping up with Christine’s mortgage in Vegas or stopped paying and don’t care if it goes into foreclosure because there’s really no equity. 

Is Meri raking it in at the B&B too?  I really don’t t know anything about that business.  I see she does well with her rags.  Kody, I’m optimistically hoping still has some sort of job albeit probably more mlm crap.  I can’t see how Janelle makes any money with Strive. She NEVER explains what else she does with her time.  Is Christine making money from the patterned rags?  Robyn....I won’t even entertained MSC and doesn’t she still have a nanny? I would imagine most of their money comes from 3 sources: tv show, Meri’s trash rags, and possibly the B&B, and I’m not even certain about the last one.  

Anything they feature on tv, I assume the show pays for such as:  weddings, trips, etc., I disregard the wrangling of hands over how the fambily will pay for it.  Despite this, they don’t seem to be savers unless the past 10 years is a total fabrication.  At the very least, they have tons of bankruptcies and unpaid bills amongst them.

Now the 5 adults getting paid from TLC plus whatever they make on these side deals I could see a nice home, but these people have a noted history of thinking bills are optional.  I just don’t understand why lenders take risk after risk with them.  Can any portion of their mortgage be written off as a business expense since they film in their homes?  I do think they make a decent amount, I’m just factoring in the sheer number of them and most of them seem to be spenders.  I don’t know why I try to figure out their finances, it’s like trying to unscramble their family tree. I don’t have the time or the patience.

[smarty]

I think it is kind of funny that they all loved the lot at the end of Coyote Pass that had the hill and all the trees - remember the discussion about how one wife couldn't have all the trees and they could share the trees.  When it came time to buy, that was the lot that Christine got.  Now Robyn has bought a house that is the same area/topography as that lot. Poor Janelle still gets nothing. Meri probably can't wait to end the Arizona charade and doesn't care.