Flip Or Flop - General Discussion

[Maya]

I just watched a repeat of the fake vandalism house (jeans hanging from the ceiling fan? Really?) and I am very confused. Isn't that what the final walk-through is for? You schedule a walk-through a couple hours before the closing and make sure everything is still ok?

I looked through the posts about that episode and didn't see anyone mention this. That's how it works where I live.

Also hopefully they called the police after the water heater was stolen. They didn't show that, and it made them look kind of stupid.

[Broderbits]

With the houses that are bought at auction, there is no final walk-through. A lot of them are cash sales, as-is, sight unseen. And if there are tenants pissed at being evicted or owners being kicked out by a bank, you don't know how they will leave the house. There's plenty of real vandalism that goes on; I saw it myself 40 years ago and I'm sure people haven't changed that much.

[Honey]

Does anyone know, or have they ever said, why they don't put refrigerators in their completed flips?

[Honey]

Does anyone know, or have they ever said, why they don't put refrigerators in their completed flips?

[Portia]

Does anyone know, or have they ever said, why they don't put refrigerators in their completed flips?

Maybe customs differ in different parts of the country, but I've never bought nor viewed a for-sale house that included a fridge. It's always been a given that the buyers would provide their own. Edited August 2, 2015 by Portia

[Saylii]

Does anyone know, or have they ever said, why they don't put refrigerators in their completed flips?

In some parts of the country, only built-in appliances are required to sell with the house. Traditionally, sellers could choose to take the refrigerator, washer, and dryer with them. I have even seen legal cases over free-standing ovens, especially electric ones that don't technically fit in the "built-in, physically connected to the house" rules. It's also why homeowners are supposed to leave light fixtures, blinds, ceiling fans and bolted to the wall mirrors when they sell.

T&C can also just write it in the contract as a condition that they aren't providing a refrigerator.

[Honey]

the why provide a stove, dishwasher, wash and dryer?

[Bastet]

I'm in Los Angeles rather than Orange County, so I don't know for sure it's the same custom in the areas they're staging in, but it’s extremely common here for homes  – for sale or rent – to come without a refrigerator.

[Cranky One]

For those wondering how they are making money, they are still selling houses. Some of these may be flips, though.

http://www.century21.com/real-estate/tarek-el-moussa/P25358827/?ag=P25358827&t=0&v=0.

ETA, a lot of descriptions say remodeled, so they probably are their flips. Would have loved to see the Corona Del Mar house on the show if it was one.

Edited August 3, 2015 by Cranky One

[chessiegal]

New baby arrived at 8:15 last night - Brayden James, 8 lb. 9 oz. Congrats to the family.

[chessiegal]

Tarek & Christina posted pix from the hospital on FB this afternoon. She said labor started yesterday morning and was coming along fine, but in the end she had to have a C-section. Everyone is doing fine.

[zivadanielle]

Mazel Tov to the El Moussas!

 

They just put photos up on FB ... poor Christina had to have an emergency C-section.  Anyway Christina has NO MAKEUP ON OMGGGGGGzzzzzzz so of course there are comments about that.

 

I personally think she looks lovely both without and with makeup. 

[Cranky One]

I saw on their IG account on a picture that I think she posted of Taylor where someone was constantly posting that they didn't think she was really pregnant. People are weird.

[chessiegal]

I saw on their IG account on a picture that I think she posted of Taylor where someone was constantly posting that they didn't think she was really pregnant. People are weird.

 

No kidding! I suppose they kidnapped a newborn baby and spent zillions of dollars faking the pictures of her, Tarek, and Taylor in the hospital. I guess they went to the effort of faking a birth certicate. Geez.

Edited August 23, 2015 by chessiegal

[Cranky One]

And then they posted a picture of Taylor feeding the baby with a bottle and the Breast Feeding Police came out. 1) How do they know Christina didn't pump?, 2) Maybe she can't breastfeed, and 3) It's none of their business whether she chooses to breastfeed or not.

 

Again, people are weird!

 

[zivadanielle]

Last night on FB Tarek announced that they started filming the new season and guess who's back?  Izzy!  LOL I think they must've read some comments where people were irate about him being "fired."  There is a quick goofy video with him too. 

[Mrs. P.]

Has Christina had the baby?

[chessiegal]

Yes.

 

ETA: Check out the small talk thread. More details there.

Edited September 5, 2015 by chessiegal

[bubbls]

I'm glad to see Izzy coming back. I liked his presence on the show.

[Honey]

I like Israel and his brother the best.   Steve is too stiff, and Dan always seemed a bit too gleeful when things went wrong, and they had to spend extra money.

 

Taylor looks like a perfect 50/50 combination of T & C.

[bubbls]

I don't think I've ever seen Israel's brother on the show. I'll have to keep an eye out.

[Honey]

I don't think I've ever seen Israel's brother on the show. I'll have to keep an eye out.

His name is Rudy, and he looks a lot like Israel.  He's actually on the show a lot when Battres Construction does the work.

[bubbls]

His name is Rudy, and he looks a lot like Israel.  He's actually on the show a lot when Battres Construction does the work.

 

Would I have mistaken him for Israel? I'll have to keep watch. Cuz this is important stuff!

[NYGirl]

Tarek posted on FB last night that Christina was in a pretty bad accident.  She didn't have the kids with her.  She posted today that she was sore but doing fine.

[captain1]

And Tarek was several car lengths behind and saw the whole thing. Must have been very scary. Glad they are all OK.

[zivadanielle]

Would I have mistaken him for Israel? I'll have to keep watch. Cuz this is important stuff!

I don't think so.  I was wondering about him as well after I read the other posts above but I noticed him after I knew to look for a brother - he's shorter and has more facial hair I believe.  And his hair is a little different.  But he has similar features.

 

I was watching some re-runs last night and am sure this has been discussed before...but the house where the guy was sleeping in it?  And kept getting broken into... I would be terrified of living there.  I know they said they were going to fix the fence where the squatters kept coming in but it did not look like they did much!  Yikes. 

[Honey]

I don't think so.  I was wondering about him as well after I read the other posts above but I noticed him after I knew to look for a brother - he's shorter and has more facial hair I believe.  And his hair is a little different.  But he has similar features.

 

I was watching some re-runs last night and am sure this has been discussed before...but the house where the guy was sleeping in it?  And kept getting broken into... I would be terrified of living there.  I know they said they were going to fix the fence where the squatters kept coming in but it did not look like they did much!  Yikes. 

I think it was lowlifes taking advantage of an empty house.  I wouldn't be afraid to live there after it's all done.

[roseha]

I like Israel and his brother the best.   Steve is too stiff, and Dan always seemed a bit too gleeful when things went wrong, and they had to spend extra money.

 

 

Ha ha about Dan.

 

I didn't know Izzy was back! Now I have to look up this show again.  The other contractors were really putting me to sleep.  Never underestimate the power of a personality.  Izzy seems like a decent guy too, from what I can see.

[roseha]

I just saw that about the accident.  Glad everyone is okay. 

[pythonite]

I'm dubious of a drought tolerant lawn. I wish they would stop sod all together. The state will literally be "out of water" in one year last I heard.

[captain1]

When do the new episodes start? I set my DVR to record all first run episodes and it doesn't "see" any yet.

[chessiegal]

If I remember, they said in December, early, I think.

Edited October 15, 2015 by chessiegal

[topanga]

New episodes start on December 3rd. I can't wait.

[ByaNose]

New episodes start on December 1st at 9:00 pm est. It's titled "Finding Small Town Texas Charm for a Young Family".

[topanga]

Is Tarek kidding when he says things like, "A total kitchen redo? We should be able to do that for $10,000"? Or we wants to do something really cheap, and Christiana reminds him that if they want to sell the house, they can't settle for cheap if it means cheap-looking. 

[topanga]

From the HGTV website: 

 

      The fourth season of HGTV’s hugely popular house-flipping series Flip or Flop, will premiere on Thursday, December 3, at 9 p.m. ET/PT.

 

I like the follow up shows. I like the sit-down interviews with Tarek and Christina. And even if the "unseen footage" is produced (i.e. partially faked), it's still interesting. 

[chessiegal]

They posted on their FB page that they are already filming Season 5.

[topanga]

I saw a picture of the family, including the new baby boy, in People magazine He is adorable. He has dark eyes and olive skin like his dad. 

[topanga]

What percentage of the "surprises" would you guess are real, and what percentage were already known, or even planned? I mean, can't Izzie detect some of the electrical or plumbing issues before they begin the renovation? And the house that had been gutted (cabinets, floors, etc. all ripped out)--Tarek and Christina had no idea that had occurred? And what about the home that looked pretty good when they did the walk-through, and then when they returned, "someone" had broken into the house and had a wild party. Did that party actually happen? And Christina's Escalade getting stolen--did that really happen?

 

Tarek's medical issues are real, of course. The thyroid caner and the herniated discs in his back that required surgery.

Edited November 30, 2015 by topanga

[chessiegal]

The theft of their Escalade and her purse are real - they posted about it on their FB page. Some of what you see on the shows are re-enactments, which I'm guessing is a lot on this show. I don't care, love the show.

[topanga]

I love it when something unexpected happens, and either Christina or Tarek react by shouting something that has to be bleeped out. So maybe those are the real surprises. 

[Saylii]

The walk through they do at the beginning of the show is actually the second walk through. T&C and their contractors have been in the house before. So all the walk through stuff is likely fake/recreated.

I do believe the party happened, probably after they had been through it the first time already. I still think their reactions were probably recreated, as camera crews would have already set up in the house for filming.

Some of the electrical/plumbing stuff is probably held back for drama, especially on the houses where the breaker boxes need to be replaced, obvious leaks on the sheetrock, etc. There's no way the contractor wouldn't notice some of that stuff.

The car theft was real. People can be incredibly bold with what they steal when the keys are easily accessible. The other "real" moments had to be when the water started leaking out of the light fixtures and the homeless guy sleeping on the bed. Usually when you hear shrieking and see the camera jiggling as they are running to keep up with the action is a good indicator it's not planned footage.

[zivadanielle]

Season premiere is tonight--presumably the episode will feature Izzy since he's in a pic they have on Instagram to remind people.  I think I have my DVR set to record it since I may not remember to watch if I am in a Hallmark Channel vortex haha. 

[Gregg247]

I like Tarek, but I think its safe to assume that Christina is the brains of the operation.  Whenever she's not involved in the early portion of the show, Tarek ends up making some big mistakes that she has to come in and fix.  Several times, he's bought a house without her and she absolutely hated it.  Those houses frequently are the "flops".

 

I don't particularly like her style of painting everything grey, but buyers seem to really appreciate it.

 

The best part of the show is how well they get along with each other.  They don't have a lot of manufactured drama.  If one feels strongly about something, the other generally goes along with it.  

[ByaNose]

The house looked nice. Supposedly, they were going to make a profit of $92,800. That said, the fireplace looked ugly and cheap. All they did was slap brown paint on it. If I'm buying a house for $460,000 I would hope I would get a mantle with it or some tile work.

[topanga]

But the fireplace was curved, so I think it would have been difficult to build a mantle. But yes, they could have used tiles or stonework (the more modern rectangular stones. 

 

Did you hear Christina mention Brayden (their new baby boy)? But I was a little confused when she told Taylor she had to pick him up from school. Did she mean day care? And I'm surprised they wouldn't have a nanny or an au pair, considering how erratic their schedules can be. And I don't think they're hurting for money anymore. 

[ByaNose]

Yeah, the fireplace was curved. So, I guess a mantle would be hard to do but I agree that some tile work should have been done. I totally missed the little brother being mentioned. I don't even know if I knew if they had the baby or not. I think I was so into the Flip of the house that I didn't pay attention to anything else.

[Mrs. P.]

Yeah, the fireplace was curved. So, I guess a mantle would be hard to do but I agree that some tile work should have been done. I totally missed the little brother being mentioned. I don't even know if I knew if they had the baby or not. I think I was so into the Flip of the house that I didn't pay attention to anything else.

I was listening specifically for a mention of the baby and didn't hear anything. I also noticed that in their Christmas commercial for HGTV they have Taylor with them but again there is no mention of the baby.

It's kind of strange, but maybe they just want to keep him out of the public eye for a while.

[chessiegal]

I was listening specifically for a mention of the baby and didn't hear anything. I also noticed that in their Christmas commercial for HGTV they have Taylor with them but again there is no mention of the baby.

It's kind of strange, but maybe they just want to keep him out of the public eye for a while.

They have no problem featuring Brayden on their FB posts. I think it has more to do with timing of filming the promos.

[roseha]

I didn't hear any mention of the new baby either, however I thought Christina seemed a little less animated than usual, which is not surprising if they filmed not long after she gave birth. 

Great to have Izzy back.  I loved his deadpan delivery of "you already paid for this?"

 

ETA:  I just looked at their facebook page, apparently the current shows were filmed well before the baby was born.

Edited December 6, 2015 by roseha