Flip Or Flop - General Discussion

[David T. Cole]

Spill it.

[David T. Cole]

Discuss the renos here!

[David T. Cole]

The Small Talk topic is for:

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[captain1]

Thanks David! Welcome fellow TWoP refugees - the new season is about to begin!

[captain1]

I can't wait to see how much the adorable daughter has grown. They seem like such a sweet family. Glad Tarek appears to be recovering from his cancer.

[auntjess]

I was reading back through their Facebook page, and the last update I see on Tarek's cancer is from November, and says his scans and whatever checks they do, have all been good.
Hope and pray that this continues.

[halgia]

A place to discuss particular episodes, arcs and moments from Flip or Flop. Please remember this isn't a complete catch-all topic -- check out the forum for character topics and other places for show-related talk.

Edited May 14, 2014 by stacey
Updating topics

[iMonrey]

I was kind of surprised there was no mention of Tarek's recent illness since it was kind of a big deal. He looked healthy though. It's always funny to seem him dressed in a suit during the open house when all he ever wears the rest of the time are shorts and flip flops. 

[auntjess]

I'm wondering when the pictures in the ad were taken. 
If the bank put them up, either they didn't secure the property while it was in their care, or they knowingly posted misleading pictures, which seems like fraud, to me.

This is at least the second time when a foreclosed property has been badly vandalized.  Remember the one where there was cement in the toilet or sink?

[captain1]

While I always love their remodels, it was great to see them step out of their comfort zone and do something a little different.  As for the pictures, I think Tarek said they were from when it had been sold before and was in MLS.

[auntjess]

As it must have happened while the bank owned it, wouldn't  they carry insurance?

[captain1]

I thought the season opener renovation looked great. Loved the really contemporary vibe, and loved that they were willing to seek out and accept the advice of the other flipper. On another note, living here in rural VA, it always amazes me how much these tiny CA houses go for.

I think the money they spend on the staging is well worth it.

[iMonrey]

One thing that struck me as funny is the fact that they made a big deal out of going to Los Angeles to bid on this property, which they say they've never done before, and yet the auctioneer was the same one we saw numerous times in Season 1. So either the guy auctions homes all around the state or else this was another staged auction (most likely the latter).

It seems like the house maybe had a previous flipper working on it which is why all the flooring and cabinetry had been pulled out and thrown into the back yard. It didn't seem like vandalism, it seemed more like an abandoned remodeling job. Maybe the previous flipper ran out of funds and had to unload the property.

[captain1]

That makes a lot of sense, except that I thought the property was bank owned? Maybe I just assumed that was the case, though.

[auntjess]

It still looks like vandalism to me, because had someone been doing demo to remodel, they'd have gotten a dumpster.
I can't see a flipper tearing out things which were, from the pictures, in good shape.

[iMonrey]

It could still be bank owned if it was previously purchased by another flipper - if they were unable to keep paying the mortgage payments, then it goes back to the bank. Or another bank. And the lack of dumpster doesn't necessarily mean vandalism, auntjess - especially if we're talking about someone who clearly didn't have the funds to finish the job. With vandalism I'd expect to see broken windows, graffiti, and cement poured into the toilet like that one house last season. Someone was obviously taking things out of the house and tossing them, not destroying the stucture.

[txvoodoo]

So I'm watching, and ...

• The pictures he looks at are from a few *years* ago, and he bases his estimate of $30k for reno on that. Never mind that his estimates are ALWAYS low. 
• They're told "don't get laminate." What do they get? Laminate. High quality or not, it's cheaping out. People don't only spend money for the look, they want quality. 
• They're told to go for character. I really don't think they have any clue what character is. 
• I have to laugh a little when they are forced to put down a thicker subfloor because their laminate is so thin.
• And also, laugh at their final reno cost: $123k. 

They sold it, but I really wonder how much was just due to location and view. 

[mojito]

I want to see more of the "Flop" aspect of flipping. I want to see some balance.

Edited April 19, 2014 by mojito

[captain1]

Thought this might be better than an episode thread. Just watched the second episode of the second season, where Tarek and Christina spent $13,000 on a wrought iron door. First of all, I was amazed that a door could even COST $13,000, then I couldn't believe they did it, but at the last I could see how it really helped sell that home. I like that they can be bold at times. But I also would like to see a big old gigantic FLOP!

[auntjess]

They posted on Facebook that they've got a hoarder house for season 3.
Did we know there was a season 3 set?

[mojito]

It's actually getting kind of annoying to hear Tarek say, "If ________, this could cost us thousands of dollars." Or "This could be a nightmare!" They might as well just call this show "Flip".

[Taylorh2]

I'm new to this show but I actuallly like them because it doesn't seem like a lot of 'made up drama' like the other Flip shows.

I think they spend a lot of unnecessary money.

[mojito]

 

I think they spend a lot of unnecessary money.

I do, too, in that they don't have many skills to do things themselves so they have to pay for others to do almost all the work for them.

Tarek's talking head bit gets tiresome and really adds nothing to the show because time after time, he frets and then they make megabucks in the end. We know that now, so it's not a useful device to keep us on the edge of our seats. Either show us some flops or give us more information/instruction on the work being done.

[ramble]

I agree the formula is, well formulamatic. Buy, complain, spend, complain, be amazed at the transformation, worry, list, success & large profit. Still I prefer them over the Las Vegas pair of whiners. I did see an episode once where they didn't sell the house at the end & had been holding it a couple of months. I don't what happened with it.

[iMonrey]

 

They're told to go for character. I really don't think they have any clue what character is.

 

Maybe not, but the hipster flipper who was giving them that advice didn't have much 'character' to show in the house he flipped either.

[mojito]

That was "Flipping Vegas" with that annoying blonde guy and his fake-looking wife who created pseudo-drama by purchasing expensive items he told her not to. "If ________, this'll be a disaster!" was his mantra. They seemed completely phony to me, from the expensive cars to the excessive fighting and cursing. Seriously, if you're being filmed while you're doing something, there will often be expletives. But why in a talking head segment? That just shows lack of self control.

This week, Tarek said, "This could be our first flop". Meaning, the first one that was televised, no doubt, because a couple of episodes ago he said something about past failures.

Also this week, Izzy got a talking head segment, which was nice to see.

[Taylorh2]

Dude!  Scott & Amy from the Vegas flipping show are beyond annoying, esp Scott. I don't watch them anymore.

[captain1]

The main reason I watch (and like) this show is that Tarek and Christina don't fight, or curse at each other but treat each other with mutual respect.

[mojito]

It's nice that the drama on this show seems to be encouraged by the network, not by the couple. The most contention we see between them is an occasional (well-deserved) eye roll from Christina. ">

[txvoodoo]

Yeah, I think character in that area must mean something different. Apparently floor-to-ceiling teal tiles? :D

(I mean, I love teal but....)

[auntjess]

Sorry, but I can get over spending close to half a million bucks for a house with ONE bathroom.

[mojito]

 

Sorry, but I can get over spending close to half a million bucks for a house with ONE bathroom.

Absurd, ain't it?

 

Sometimes I find myself resenting Tarek and Christine for jacking up home prices.

[iMonrey]

I agree they need to have an episode where they lose money on the investment. The name of the show is Flip or Flop, after all. There have been a couple of episodes where the property did not sell by the end of the filming period, and one where they got an offer but the financing fell through. I assume they eventually did sell those properties, and maybe at a loss by the time they sold, so why not show us that? We need to see the downside to this business otherwise they make it look like anybody could do it and get rich quick.

[Blergh]

What was the deal May 13th episode in which these squatters kept coming BACK even with cameras filming them, new doors,etc.? It seems they considered the place MORE important than just a spot to crash, smoke and drink in.I wonder if the buyers knew about these squatter before buying the place. Odd that they treated Christina's reaction to seeing the first one spotted as though she'd just seen a spider and nothing more.

[iMonrey]

I wondered the same thing. I feel sorry for the poor homebuyers if they had no idea how many times that home was broken into, only to watch this episode and realize "Hey, that's our house! And their solution to the break-ins was to install a new front door and a new back yard fence which didn't look like much of a deterrent to me. It's not like it was electrified. 

 

I think this last one came pretty close to demonstrating the pitfalls of flipping: they were into that house for almost $800k and stood to make a profit of only around 34k. They usually made a higher profit from less expensive homes. I'm willing to bet they didn't even make that much after taxes and such; they might have even ended up losing money on the deal.

[auntjess]

At that price, I'm glad that they didn't go with laminate flooring.  Couldn't believe Tarek want to do that.

They've used marble a lot for countertops, but I understand that marble stains, so why would you do that?  I'd want something impervious to stains.

[mojito]

 

I'd want something impervious to stains.

I think quartz would be the material of choice. More expensive than granite yet not many high-end buyers on these shows state this as the material of choice, which one of the hosts of a flipping show commented on. He stated that people demand granite, but it's not the best surface.

[iMonrey]

Looks like they finally had a flop. They sunk way more into that house than they planned to and it still hadn't sold by the time the episode was finished. You know, I bet they actually lose money on some houses they flip. They probably make up for it with other sales, but it balances out. They probably don't want to show the ones where they had to take a loss because it would make them look less successful.

[captain1]

Loved Christina and the chickens!

[auntjess]

They just post this on Facebook,

 

On Barnyard dance (the chicken episode) we sold the home for $790,000

They didn't say how long they had to carry it.
The house looked like a '60s subdivision house in any Eastern seaboard suburb, and nothing I'd have thought of as 20s.  It must have had a lot of remodeling.

[mojito]

 

The house looked like a '60s subdivision house in any Eastern seaboard suburb

That was my thought, too. The exterior was not at all attractive.

 

 

They probably don't want to show the ones where they had to take a loss because it would make them look less successful.

I've been wanting to see a flop or two, but thought, why would Tarek and Christina want to show that? Of course, I'd like to see it.

 

Since the couple seems to be doing more than one flip at a time, I wonder how they pick which house to show on TV? The most successful? Higher-end homes? More dramatically changed homes? I just wonder if most of their flips are quick turnover flips that net nickels and dimes compared to what we see on the program.

[captain1]

I'd say that's a pretty likely scenario, Mojito - buy the average, not in too bad shape, foreclosure, slap on some fresh paint, put in new carpeting and sell.

[iMonrey]

 

Since the couple seems to be doing more than one flip at a time, I wonder how they pick which house to show on TV?

 

For starters they'd have to pick a home they haven't done anything with yet. I'm sure if they've got about 10 flips going at once at any given time they're all in various stages of remodel. They have to stage the "Oh, look, we're just seeing this house for the first time!" scenes and then film the remodel from start to finish. 

 

 

I've been wanting to see a flop or two, but thought, why would Tarek and Christina want to show that?

 

Because the show's called Flip or Flop, that's why. I mean, on the one I hand, I get that there have been tons of shows about House Flippers that really show the perils of house flipping, especially when you don't know what you're doing. But maybe T&C (or HGTV) should have come up with a different name for the show, like Flip and Flip and Flip Again. It's not as if they're selling their services, nobody is going to hire them to buy their house and flip it or do a remodel on their house because that's not what they do. They're just in this for themselves, so why not feature a house or two where they had to take a loss and show us the reality of this business? So long as they're still making huge profits on other houses it balances out.

 

It's not like we're going to go "Oh, they suck, they shouldn't have sunk that much money into that house," and stop watching the show. I think it would humanize them a bit to show that not every house they flip is a success story. That they are good at what they do and make a nice living off this, but sometimes things don't go their way. It would also add a bit more suspense to each episode.

[chessiegal]

I noticed in an episode tonight they've toned down Christina's makeup. She looks better. My husband commented in the first season it looked like you could take off her makeup with a trowel.

[Mrs. P.]

I just saw the episode featuring a house in Whittier that was expensive to buy and then wound up needing extensive repairs. Tarek borrowed money from his mother to finish the job. There was no sale of the house by the end of the episode, presumably because they overpriced it when they put it on the market.

Would this one qualify as a 'flop'?

[iMonrey]

It's about as close as we ever get Mrs. P., but then Tarek blogged or posted on Facebook that they ended up selling the house for X amount. I would consider a true "flop" to be one where they had to take a huge loss just to unload the property, because it ended up being far more expensive to remodel and repair than they originally thought. 

 

This last one (6/3) felt kind of like a cheat. Terrible location on a busy street, right next to a school, terrible traffic there, and houses priced lower than theirs in far more desirable areas. All the realtors come through the Open House and say it's over priced for the location. Then, they end up getting an offer over list price. WTH? When something like that happens they need to explain why, or else I feel like the whole episode was deliberately misleading. 

[mojito]

 

It's not like we're going to go "Oh, they suck, they shouldn't have sunk that much money into that house," and stop watching the show.

But it is like future clients will say, "Oh, they suck". And those are the people worth the biggest bucks. This show is just extra cash flow, and could be canceled at any time, selling homes is their livelihood.

 

My DVR cut off the end of the last show. It looked like they sold that little house on that horrible, busy, cluttered street for $643K? Geez, how do people afford to live in that state?

[iMonrey]

But who are their "clients," really? The only people who have "hired" them are the folks at HGTV and I don't think their ratings would suffer if they showed us some of their flops. In fact I think it would do the show good because eventually people are going to get tired of every flip being a success. I burned out on Love It or List It after only a handful of episodes because it's basically the exact same story, every time. 

 

I don't think it would affect their ability to sell their flips, either. They do good work and use high grade materials. They aren't skimping or violating codes, they really do high-end work. I just think there has to be some cases where they get in way over their heads because of unforeseen problems and end up having to take a huge loss. 

Edited June 5, 2014 by iMonrey

[auntjess]

 

I burned out on Love It or List It after only a handful of episodes because it's basically the exact same story, every time.

And the exact same house, usually.

[Patrizio]

I love this show. Like the couple too. Considering they have an adorable small daughter, it's refreshing that they're not creating drama by bickering or putting the others' opinions down. I hate that. The show is interesting enough without phony drama, (looking at you Flipping Vegas and Househunters). I can't wait for the hoarders episode.