Flip Or Flop - General Discussion

[chessiegal]

So, we are visiting out oldest daughter and family in NOLA. Our SIL, who is a professor of ancient languages at a seminary here, mentioned that he had taken their van in for a repair and watched 3 episodes of "a show called Flip or Flop" while waiting. This family does not have a TV, so he had never heard of or seen the show. He told me how much he enjoyed seeing a home being remodeled. So there you go - someone with no preconceived notions who loves ancient languages and composing masses liked this show (me too!). Who knew? Guess that might provide some insight into the appeal of the show. :>

[ShellSeeker]

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.  

 

I think there's some manufactured drama, but it's not as egregious as on some other shows. And I do appreciate that it's related to the flips, not the 2 of them having fake fights in front of the camera. That is one thing I enjoy about the show -- the 2 of them seem to work well together, and genuinely enjoy each other's company.

[topanga]

 

 

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.

Okay, I'll have to watch again. But I swear Christina looked in the backseat and told Taylor, (who was sitting in her black and white car seat), "We have to pick up Bradyden from school."  Was I just mishearing things?

[MoreCoffeePlease]

I wish I could have placed a bet with someone on whether or not Christina would choose white shaker cabinets for the kitchen.  I won!  Oooh, but she had to get all creative and did poured concrete countertops. 

 

Edited December 14, 2015 by MoreCoffeePlease

[ByaNose]

How many bedrooms did Costa Mesa have? Two? It looked like one was staged as a very small office. Can you imagine paying over $600,000 for that? Of course, it's California where everything is expensive and not relative to other areas. It was soooooooo small. It was like WHAM your in the living room, dinning room & kitchen all at once. The dinning room table was so close to the wall that the the table would have to be pulled out to get to the other side. Also, the washer/dryer in the kitchen (I thought they would at least throw them in, too). I did like the rustic island but I didn't like it in the bathroom. It started to feel like a mountain lodge. Can you imagine if it had a pool in the larger back yard how much it would have cost? Yikes!

[MrPissyPuppy]

Also, the washer/dryer in the kitchen

 

 

I don't mind the washer/dryer in the kitchen, but at least put a door on the little closet!  I don't want to have to look at them while I'm entertaining/eating dinner/watching tv/whatever. 

[topanga]

Maybe it's just more noticeable this season, but Christina is clearly in charge of these flips. Tarek handles things when it comes to negotiating the purchase of the house, but then Christina takes over: "Let's expand the bathroom, and design the kitchen this way, and pour cement counters, and use faux marble in the shower..." And Tarek pretends to balk but always says, "Yeah, okay, that sounds like a good idea."

[mojito]

 

Maybe it's just more noticeable this season, but Christina is clearly in charge of these flips.

Things seem the same as always to me. Some time ago, I believe Tarek suggested concrete floors and Christina balked, but they did it anyway. This time Christina suggested the concrete floors. They're smart enough to make all their decisions off-camera, so as not to argue. That results in one person giving in to the other's idea pretty quickly. 

 

Can you imagine paying over $600,000 for that?

Aw hail no.

 

It's about the size of my home (that has two baths), it has a larger back yard, and I have a garage. It sold for more than a half million more than my house is worth. More and more Californians are flocking into Texas these days. Once they get past the rush hour traffic that's not so bad and the price of housing, I wonder if they look around at the scenery and think, "Crap, what have we done?" or are they doing handstands in the 4000+ square foot place they just bought for $600K?

[amass]

I know it's only $1300 which compared to what they made on the house is small potatoes, but I can't believe the contractor would charge them after he dropped the tree through the roof.

[Mu Shu]

I like how Christina and Tarek get along. I remember that awful Flipping Vegas show with the spouses who clearly hated each other. I kept waiting for a news piece to show up about how he shoved her into a wood chipper, or vise versa.

Even with her annoying way of speaking, I find Christina to be enjoyable to watch. She's not a dumb blonde, and did very well in the marriage department. Tarek is a nice guy.

[lilly1927]

I agree that 44 flips at once seems like a lot.

 

Negative comments on her appearance on their FB page - my husband and I joke that some times it looks like you could scrape her makeup off with a trowel, but I would never say that to her, even with the anonymity of online posting. That's just rude. Some people have no sense of propriety or manners.

I don't think it's rude, she is on TV which makes her subject to comments from the public.  Unlike some of the people on this board, I think she acts like an airhead. I say this because IF she wasn't, then she would be smart enough to know that IF she expects us to believe that she really helps out, then she shouldn't look like she's scared of hammer when she's pretending to remove tile.  It was also an insult to our intelligence when she was walking in front holding the cabinet BEHIND her, supposedly helping men carry a cabinet,  I think she makes women look stupid and useless.

I agree that 44 flips at once seems like a lot.

 

Negative comments on her appearance on their FB page - my husband and I joke that some times it looks like you could scrape her makeup off with a trowel, but I would never say that to her, even with the anonymity of online posting. That's just rude. Some people have no sense of propriety or manners.

I don't think it's rude, she is on TV which makes her subject to comments from the public.  Unlike some of the people on this board, I think she acts like an airhead. I say this because IF she wasn't, then she would be smart enough to know that IF she expects us to believe that she really helps out, then she shouldn't look like she's scared of hammer when she's pretending to remove tile.  It was also an insult to our intelligence when she was walking in front holding the cabinet BEHIND her, supposedly helping men carry a cabinet,  I think she makes women look stupid and useless.

[WildPlum]

I like the ones where they show clips of her setting tile wearing multiple rings and bracelets. Hmm, no, not if you value your jewelry or your manicure. Also the shots of Tarek tiling while slathering on HUGE blobs of thinset and splattering them everywhere and the thinset squeezing up in the gaps - he isn't always that bad, but you can see when they have set up a shot in a hurry. They employ professional tile setters, I'd rather see the pros doing it. 

[topanga]

 

Also the shots of Tarek tiling while slathering on HUGE blobs of thinset and splattering them everywhere and the thinset squeezing up in the gaps - he isn't always that bad, but you can see when they have set up a shot in a hurry. They employ professional tile setters, I'd rather see the pros doing it.

I love those scenes, too. Especially when Christina walks into the bathroom (or kitchen) and says how great everything looks. She must be talking about the tile itself because Tarek's work always looks horrible, with grout* everywhere.

 

*Thinset? Is that what it's called? So what's grout?

[roughing it]

Thinset is the stuff that makes the tile stick to the backer board.  It should be put on less sparingly so it stays behind the tile, and not so much that it squishes out the side. 

Grout is the stuff that goes between the tiles.  You press it in and then wipe off any excess on the tiles.

[WildPlum]

Yes, thinset adheres the tile to the substrate and when that is dry (24-48 hours depending on the type of thinset used) the grout is what goes between the tiles to keep moisture and dirt from dropping down between/under the tiles.

 

If you put on too little thinset, you can get the tiles popping off the floor. If you use too much thinset, you spend a lot of time with a grout knife scraping it off and swearing before you can put the grout in. Knowing the consistency the thinset and grout need to be mixed to and how to trowel the thinset on in the right pattern for the size of the tile is very much an art - one that you can learn, but it takes practice.

 

Tiles will also pop off the floor if the subfloor isn't very level or if the subfloor is shifting or bouncy. There have been a few episodes where T & C have brought in a contractor to spread a thick coat of floor-leveling compound (or gypcrete) before they laid floors (tile and even laminate/hardwood) - often when they have taken down walls and two rooms don't have the same floor height.

 

Pretty sure what they HAVEN'T shown is you can only level a floor so far - if it is off by too much, you either install a new thicker subfloor (if it is plywood/OSB) or bring in a concrete grinder and literally grind one floor down the the other floor height. That is REALLY expensive.

[zivadanielle]

Why can't people just be nice?  Don't answer that.. I guess Christina read some mean comments on the HGTV page or what not last night after the new episode aired--she posted about it on their own page and it just made me sad....

 

Also somewhat recently Christina's nutritionist wrote a piece about the former's pregnancy and recovery (which C also posted)--had no idea she had such a tough time with this pregnancy!  I found it pretty interesting for the food/exercise bit...though I've never had a baby and never will. 

 

http://www.caraclarknutrition.com/hgtvs-christina-el-moussa-beautiful-postpartum/

Edited January 8, 2016 by zivadanielle

[chessiegal]

I took Christina's FB post this morning to mean that she read rude comments on her FB page. I would hope HGTV would scrub comments like that on their website, after all it's their site. Quite frankly, not sure if you can block people on FB or not. I read one blog where the owner told folks to be polite or they will be banned from posting. I don't get being mean on line. It only says bad things about you. Unless you have a fake FB page, your info is out there.

 

I'm retired from a federal law enforcement agency that I follow on FB. I learned early on not to read the comments to their posts. I was talking to a former colleague who said how hurt she was by the nasty comments to our agency's posts. My advice to her - don't read the comments. Unless you have a moderated site like PTV, Katie bar the doors to rude and uncivil behavior.

[Maharincess]

I took Christina's FB post this morning to mean that she read rude comments on her FB page. I would hope HGTV would scrub comments like that on their website, after all it's their site. Quite frankly, not sure if you can block people on FB or not. I read one blog where the owner told folks to be polite or they will be banned from posting. I don't get being mean on line. It only says bad things about you. Unless you have a fake FB page, your info is out there.

I'm retired from a federal law enforcement agency that I follow on FB. I learned early on not to read the comments to their posts. I was talking to a former colleague who said how hurt she was by the nasty comments to our agency's posts. My advice to her - don't read the comments. Unless you have a moderated site like PTV, Katie bar the doors to rude and uncivil behavior.

What does the last line of your comment mean? I've been trying to figure it out for half an hour. "Katie bar the doors to rude and uncivil behavior", what does that mean? There are so many new phrases, acronyms and abbreviations that pop up every day that it's hard to keep track.

[chessiegal]

What does the last line of your comment mean? I've been trying to figure it out for half an hour. "Katie bar the doors to rude and uncivil behavior", what does that mean? There are so many new phrases, acronyms and abbreviations that pop up every day that it's hard to keep track.

Hah! It's an expression that must be over 70 years old, as I heard it growing up - it means no matter how hard you try, things will just keeping coming at you sometimes.

[Mu Shu]

I thought Christina was another fake blonde twit, but other than the way she says dollars (Do-lers), I can't find much to snark about. I like her quite a bit.

[Broderbits]

Mu Shu, I agree with you about Christina. I was totally prepared to dislike her, but she seems genuinely nice and their family is so sweet. I really enjoy this show and wish them continued success.

[ravara]

There's a lot of issues I have with the show. I don't believe in trashing T or C, they are obviously just a family making a living at a job, however white bread it may be (its obvious one or both of their families have money and they have connections, this is not the risky kind of business a young, uneducated, unknowledgeable couple just "go into" without knowing they have a safety net.

I also don't like the lack of emotion in the show. I mean, for all the talk about "if we don't sell this house we will be out of business" and two kids and what looks like an expensive lifestyle, I would be in cold sweat, up all night, crying, worrying, probably have an ulcer. The words "nightmare" and "disaster" seem to be in their everyday vocabulary. Its hard to feel anything real is at risk.

The real question I have, is where I live in the world, the only place where there are roach infestations, rats, graffiti, vandalism, car thefts, people jumping fences and trespassing, squatters.....I mean, this only happens here in the hood. People in nice neighborhoods, even if not rich and affluent just middle class, are not living in a subdivision in a home that should be condemned. Even in Baltimore and places with "transitional" neighborhoods you're doing good to get a bank to appraise a home for any amount of money due to crime statistics and etc.

So, is what you're telling me that ghetto ass crack heads have half a million dollars to become home owners and houses are selling like crazy in the hood, and the bank is actually appraising these homes after reno to be sold for half a mill? Slap all the granite looking counters you want on, at the end of the day who wants a home that has been lived in by those kind of people and who is paying those prices for those type of houses obv in bad neighborhoods. I mean having a car stolen is brazen. Even in DC where theres a murder a day, you'd be hard pressed to find a car thief who is going to walk up to a home where people are obv present and a construction truck, camera crew, etc, and steal a purse hoping there were keys in it and then proceed to find the right vehicle that goes with those keys and then drive off in broad daylight in front of all those people in an escalade. That's not going to happen so this is one bad area.

I also wonder how much them being on a tv show have to do with how fast they are able to move their home, that's a lot of publicity.

[ByaNose]

I thought the house looked amazing. I wasn't into the peacock blue but that could be changed when I don't move in. LOL!!! It seemed way overpriced but I guess the comps supported the price point for that area.

[ravara]

Another question I have, is why does a real estate investor need a middle man? Like, most of the time people get invoved in flipping because they have an expertise in a certain construction area, from the actual building , tiling, to decorating and staging. Neither one of these do any construction work or have any trade skills, and any moron can pick out brown tile to bring out the brown in the cabinet. Since all they do is look at a house and get an estimate from a contractor and he does the work and they pick out the stuff to put in it, why couldn't the investor just do that himself and double his profit? Or even just hire someone to do it like all the auction guys are doing....send a flunkie down to do this and that, drop in on the gc to make sure you're on track, this is all assistant work,  not partner status.. What do they bring to the business that's worth half the profits?

They are cute and sweet , just not relatable to me personally.

[chessiegal]

They ARE the investors. Occasionally they bring another investor in, but most of the time it's just them investing their money.

[Broderbits]

Ravara, there are certain places in this country where the real estate market is insane; Southern California is one of those places. People will pay ridiculous sums to live in some of these neighborhoods that might seem "iffy". As for the condition of the flip houses: any producer manipulation aside, renters have been known to trash places when faced with eviction and homeowners don't always take the best care of their property (I refer you to any episode of "Love It or List It"). As for the car theft in broad daylight, well you wouldn't think bad guys would videotape themselves committing a crime and yet it happens all the time. I think they said that really happened but they re-created it for filming.

 

The house last night was gorgeous when they finished; all that yummy marble!

[Bastet]

They ARE the investors. Occasionally they bring another investor in, but most of the time it's just them investing their money.

Fairly early in the show's run, Tarek did an interview in which he revealed that the guy they occasionally show (Pete?) as throwing in with them on a job was actually their equal partner in every flip they do. Do you know if, now that the show/their business has taken off, that is still the case or if it's usually just their money and having another investor has become the exception?

[chessiegal]

Fairly early in the show's run, Tarek did an interview in which he revealed that the guy they occasionally show (Pete?) as throwing in with them on a job was actually their equal partner in every flip they do. Do you know if, now that the show/their business has taken off, that is still the case or if it's usually just their money and having another investor has become the exception?

Good question Bastet. According to Wiki, Pete De Best is still their business partner. My point was they are not "middlemen", they are investors who buy, renovate, and sell the properties.

[ravara]

Broderbits,  my question is why? The people coming to the open houses don't look like millionaires. So they are getting credit from somewhere. How are they getting loans on properties that  are selling over comp prices in bad neighborhoods?

They even alluded to, in one episode,  the bank only appraising the house at so much so they had to lower their price. Does it mean home values are rising? Based on what? Flipping? Isn't this what happened last time ? The housing market got soft for a little while and investors came in and bought up caches of homes, flipped them and drove real estate prices up with granite and stainless steel, next thing you know the bank is going along for the ride and approving people for million dollar homes they cant pay for and then they're getting foreclosed on? What happened to all the houses just last year that were just sitting on the market for a year and no one was selling? It's not like the economy has made a turn around, Walmart is closing stores for goodness sake so where are these people getting money to buy million dollar ranchers ? How is that possible? Where are people who would live here getting the money?

Chessiegal, Im not saying they don't invest their own money but what Im saying is for an investor, like Pete( and they have had several others but he is the one who has been there all along and is their main backer),  they ARE just a middleman because if he has they money he doesn't need them, so why go "in" with them and split your profits? What are they doing he couldn't do himself?  In other words, how would a regular "real" person go find a Pete? They are currently flipping 40 homes plus; they couldn't do that without investors.  

My issue with that is, that they make it seem like this is just a young, courageous couple who are going out on a limb doing something really bold and ambitious for their family by taking a chance and becoming flippers and they make it seem/sound like any person who just is brave enough to max out their credit cards and take a chance could build a successful real estate investment/flipping business and I feel like that's deceptive. Its just not reality. Even with great credit, (which few people still have) the banks are very stringent about loaning right now. You have to have lots of assets, cash, whatever to get a half million dollar loan, he even said the time he did get a loan he was paying 12% interest, which is high. If he had to do that every home, and could only do one home at a time like most people would, he wouldn't be able to break even. The first time he lost money or the house sat on the market or the contractor screwed up with time or budget or materials, he wouldn't be able to get another loan and he'd be out of business.

It takes years and years to build equity and start a flipping business. People can't just go out and "get an investor" like Pete, because people like Pete who have money don't need T&C, they just buy the house and pay Izzy themselves and sell it. That's my point about them being middlemen. The barrier to entry for normal people is the initial investment to get started, the backing and funds to maintain when there are losses, and the team to do good, honest construction at a cheap price and on time, which is something that takes time and experience.

So, nothing against them, but I just don't think the whole concept of flipping in general, but especially in this particular situation, is not realistically portrayed as a business that's  mostly investors or people who start really really small and have construction ability (which is how flipping actually started to begin with).  I wish they would go more into their start and how they got into the business and etc. I've read they moved out of their house and got an apartment and all that but they don't show any of that they just show them going to auctions with a million dollars and buying up houses and in truth its NOT that easy and its NOT easy to find a good contractor and one mistake in the beginning can do you in.  Its not a business most people could ever do.

[Broderbits]

No, ravara, the people we see at the open houses don't look like they can afford these properties; but these are only the people who agreed to be on camera, not necessarily the eventual buyers. Look at the auction scenes, none of those people look like millionaires either(whatever that means)and yet, there they are. And the buyers we've seen on the follow-ups look perfectly normal too. I personally know 2 millionaires and you could never tell from the way they look how much money they have.

 

Just look at the history of house-flipping on tv, from the old Property Ladder on TLC to all the current HGTV shows. The people starting out don't have access to vast cash reserves at all; my guess is this business runs much like any other: you start small and work your way up, or move on to something else having learned your lesson.

[topanga]

 

 

My issue with that is, that they make it seem like this is just a young, courageous couple who are going out on a limb doing something really bold and ambitious for their family by taking a chance and becoming flippers and they make it seem/sound like any person who just is brave enough to max out their credit cards and take a chance could build a successful real estate investment/flipping business and I feel like that's deceptive. Its just not reality. Even with great credit, (which few people still have) the banks are very stringent about loaning right now. You have to have lots of assets, cash, whatever to get a half million dollar loan, he even said the time he did get a loan he was paying 12% interest, which is high. If he had to do that every home, and could only do one home at a time like most people would, he wouldn't be able to break even. The first time he lost money or the house sat on the market or the contractor screwed up with time or budget or materials, he wouldn't be able to get another loan and he'd be out of business.

It takes years and years to build equity and start a flipping business. People can't just go out and "get an investor" like Pete, because people like Pete who have money don't need T&C, they just buy the house and pay Izzy themselves and sell it. That's my point about them being middlemen. The barrier to entry for normal people is the initial investment to get started, the backing and funds to maintain when there are losses, and the team to do good, honest construction at a cheap price and on time, which is something that takes time and experience.

I agree with you that flipping houses is something people can't start doing on a whim (despite infomercials that say otherwise). Tarek and Christina did start somewhat from the bottom, in the sense that their previous real estate business when belly up and they were living in one of their parents' garages for a while. But these two are fortunate in that they both had parents who are able to help them financially. They still help them occasionally, and I'm sure they helped them early on to purchase properties to flip. 

 

And I do think they have an advantage because they have some understanding of the California housing market, and they know something about remodeling and renovations. It's not clear how much they knew about renovations before they started flipping, and how much they've learned along the way. One "false" thing on almost every episode are the surprise electrical or plumbing issues that come up with almost every house. I'm sure Tarek and Christina know about these issues when purchasing the house, but they don't reveal them to the audience till later for dramatic reasons. 

 

I'm surprised they were able to sell that million dollar house. Well, when the episode ended, they were still in escrow. I wonder if the deal will go through. 

[ravara]

Oh for sure. There's only so many things in a house that can surprise you over and over again. Their dialogue (just like all the other shows) is scripted so I blame HGTV for that. The problem with reality tv is, because its "reality", they don't bother to hire professional writers, so the banter is terrible and then it just comes off as bad acting.

I think they should show more about them. I would be interested to see less about tile (since apparently everyone in socal likes brown laminate) and more about their life. Character development is good. 

Southern California must be a stressful place to live. To know you can't own a home except to pay near a million dollars? That's pretty sad.

[ravara]

As for people looking like millionaires, its not just about "looks" per se, its just how they present as a whole, the way they talk, walk, etc .  I saw an episode of LIOLI about a couple who met working on a cruise ship in Jamaica and had like seven kids and he had dreds and a gold grill and couldn't put a whole sentence together and they sold their house to buy a 700k home in the suburbs and Im like, where does this guy work, Taco Bell? I mean, I COULDNT afford a 700-800k home, and I still in my career have a lot of pressure to look top ten at all times, I have a college education, dress professionally, whatever. What are these people doing for a living I ask? 

Anyway, I think more details would make the whole show more believable and interesting.

[topanga]

As for people looking like millionaires, its not just about "looks" per se, its just how they present as a whole, the way they talk, walk, etc .  I saw an episode of LIOLI about a couple who met working on a cruise ship in Jamaica and had like seven kids and he had dreds and a gold grill and couldn't put a whole sentence together and they sold their house to buy a 700k home in the suburbs and Im like, where does this guy work, Taco Bell? I mean, I COULDNT afford a 700-800k home, and I still in my career have a lot of pressure to look top ten at all times, I have a college education, dress professionally, whatever. What are these people doing for a living I ask? 

Anyway, I think more details would make the whole show more believable and interesting.

It's also the California market. If you ever watch House Hunters (another HGTV show), most California buyers purchase homes anywhere from 400 thousand-4 million dollars. And they aren't mansions--not even the 4 million-dollar home. 

[Lovecat]

As for people looking like millionaires, its not just about "looks" per se, its just how they present as a whole, the way they talk, walk, etc .  I saw an episode of LIOLI about a couple who met working on a cruise ship in Jamaica and had like seven kids and he had dreds and a gold grill and couldn't put a whole sentence together and they sold their house to buy a 700k home in the suburbs and Im like, where does this guy work, Taco Bell? I mean, I COULDNT afford a 700-800k home, and I still in my career have a lot of pressure to look top ten at all times, I have a college education, dress professionally, whatever. What are these people doing for a living I ask? 

Anyway, I think more details would make the whole show more believable and interesting.

Keep in mind LIOLI is primarily filmed in Canada (in Toronto or Vancouver to boot, both of which are expensive), so that $700K house is "only" about $420K in US dollars (according to today's exchange rate...of course that could be somewhat different depending on when the episode was filmed, but the US dollar has been strong against the Canadian dollar for quite some time).  It took me a while to catch on to this when I first started watching--I couldn't figure out where in the US they were paying so much for a house.  I knew it wasn't California because of the cold/rainy/snowy weather!  The episodes where the houses are in the $250K-$350K range were filmed in North Carolina.

 

As topanga pointed out, the California market is VERY expensive compared to other parts of the country.  When C&T pay $300K for a falling-down shack, I die a little inside, but that's one of the (many) reasons I don't live in California!

[mojito]

 

What are they doing he couldn't do himself?

Project management. He loans out money and has competent people ensure that the end product gives him a great return on investment. He doesn't have to fret over tiling or roof repairs. He just waits for his money to grow.

 

 

The people coming to the open houses don't look like millionaires.

They may not be. What does a millionaire look like, anyway? I doubt that you could spot the ones I know, not by the clothes they wear, the cars they drive, even the houses they live in (which has much to do with why they are millionaires).

Edited January 19, 2016 by mojito

[chessiegal]

Plus they find houses and act as the real estate agent to buy and sell them. They've now grown their business so that they have a staff  working for them, helping make it happen. They also started their own design and construction company.

[topanga]

Where is Israel? I thought he was going to be back this season. 

[ravara]

a 700,000 house, with a 30 year mortgage, is 23,000 a year without even figuring in interest payment and insurance and etc. That comes out to 2,000 a month for a house payment alone, nothing else like said. When the bank approves you for a loan, that rule of thumb is that your housing cost should be 1/4 to 1/3 of your total expenses. So these people would need to be making basically $8000 a month, which is around$50 an hour. I don't care how crazy the housing market is, are you saying the entire state of California is paying $50 an hour? I just saw an older Chinese woman and her daughter, the woman couldn't even speak English. Where is she working making $50 an hour? Entire Hispanic families with 4-5 kids and you can tell they are just normal people not making that amount of money. Yes, there are cases where people have inheritances, "secret" money from a settlement or some weird way they got money and you would never know. My grandparents were millionaires, but they lived in the same house all my life that they built themselves. They would have never bought a 700k house, they saved that money and spend it on their retirement. So, my point is it makes me believe that the banks are back to loaning money to people who really cant afford to pay the payments. Maybe with two people working they can scrape it out, but with interest and insurance and upkeep on top of the expenses for a home and utilities you're talking making over 10 grand a month just for housing alone. I just don't believe with the state of the economy there are that many people making 400 grand a year.

[ravara]

on the other hand, you're not going to find a one bedroom condo in Georgetown for less than 300-400 grand. I just cant figure out with the economy the way it is and low paying jobs, unemployment, etc how there are sooo many people who can afford this.

[ByaNose]

Small cute house with a huge price tag. I think a 3 bedroom/ 1 bathroom house in the suburbs in Philly would be in the $200,000 range. Although, I think it would have an actual laundry room. I know it's California but it continues to blow my mind that people out there have to pay those enormous prices.

Just checked their Facebook and it sold:

We sold the house in tonight's episode in Torrance for $515,000!

Time to find another house to flip!

Edited January 22, 2016 by ByaNose

[Vivigirl10]

I was disappointed in the reno of the beautiful 1950's ranch (with the peacock door).  I would die for that house!  Christina has great taste and I 100% believe she knows what appeals to the masses but I feel she falls short when it comes to specialty homes.  She's kind of a one trick pony and I don't think she's trained the way an interior designer would be to have a broad range of style.  I was saddened by the fact that they stripped that house of all it's mid-century great character and turned it into a cookie-cutter McMansion replica on the inside.  Those floors (rustic) were HORRIBLE for that home.  The bathroom was really pretty but I felt overall liked they sucked the soul out of the place.  

[Broderbits]

Kiki620 said:

 

She's kind of a one trick pony and I don't think she's trained the way an interior designer would be to have a broad range of style.

But she's not designing for a specific client, just to appeal to a wide range of tastes. Whoever buys the house will have to make it what they want. Besides, there aren't any real all-around designers left on HGTV; just "personalities". Even what should be the network's Jewel in the Crown, The annual Dream House, has the same dull interior decorator every year. Christina does a good job most of the time, maybe the historical properties intimidate her.

[Lovecat]

Having just paid $4K to have my settling chimney stabilized (just the chimney, no other foundation work), I kept yelling "More!  Higher!" when Tarek was trying to puzzle out how much it was going to cost to fix that foundation.  That ish ain't cheap, dude.  Though I can certainly understand his frustration when, after all of that money for the foundation, the house itself was still crooked.  Izzy was right, though; foundation is foundation, and you gotta get another "guy" for the framing.  Now that my chimney's stabilized, I still have to fix the damage to the fireplace itself.  Gotta get another guy!

[WildPlum]

Yes, but you have to remember it is all reality TV theater. For T & C to make money doing this, neither they nor their contractors are as surprised as they ever appear by "hidden" costs and damage. What you didn't see on this show is when the engineer came through and figured out what the CAUSE of the cracks was. A bad pour? Improper surface prep? Broken water main? Subsurface soil collapse? Ground subsidence? A couple of those causes would have meant the house WOULD have been a complete tear down.

 

Sometimes I don't appreciate the theater and would rather see a more straightforward version, as in: "We knew that with the floors this heavily cracked, we were going to be looking at large expenses in new foundation, including fixing house settling issues - the fix could start around $20k and go much, much higher." I don't actually believe they bought the house prior to having someone take a look at the slab/foundation issues.

[Lovecat]

Yes, but you have to remember it is all reality TV theater. For T & C to make money doing this, neither they nor their contractors are as surprised as they ever appear by "hidden" costs and damage. What you didn't see on this show is when the engineer came through and figured out what the CAUSE of the cracks was. A bad pour? Improper surface prep? Broken water main? Subsurface soil collapse? Ground subsidence? A couple of those causes would have meant the house WOULD have been a complete tear down.

 

Sometimes I don't appreciate the theater and would rather see a more straightforward version, as in: "We knew that with the floors this heavily cracked, we were going to be looking at large expenses in new foundation, including fixing house settling issues - the fix could start around $20k and go much, much higher." I don't actually believe they bought the house prior to having someone take a look at the slab/foundation issues.

Oh, for sure.  I was just going along with the theater, as you put it.  It was easy for me to relate personally, considering my recent $4K chimney bill.

[mojito]

 

We sold the house in tonight's episode in Torrance for $515,000!

If I remember correctly, that house had less than 900 square feet. Seriously, California?

[ravara]

question: what is the theory behind the bank auctions where people buy sight unseen? why does the bank expect people to buy a house without being able to inspect it, especially knowing the damage people are doing to forclosed homes, and the risk they are taking that it could be a total teardown. its like buying a car without being able to look at it or drive it or pop the hood. that just seems completely unethical and like the bank is getting away with screwing people. if the bank owns the property it has to be insured so I wonder if even though they buy as is, insurance covers some of the damages...I know in one episode they talked about getting 10 or 15k for damages thru the insurance,

[mojito]

 

question: what is the theory behind the bank auctions where people buy sight unseen? why does the bank expect people to buy a house without being able to inspect it....

ravara, I'm only guessing here. My answer: because in California, they can (their laws allow this). Real estate is crazy there, and I guess they will always find a buyer for an available home, especially if it's in a good location and looks okay on the outside. Staged or not on this show, I'm guessing that the auctions have several people in attendance who are desperate to purchase a home.  Guessing again: states where real estate isn't so high and hard to get, the laws are more stringent and the banks have to allow a buyer to inspect an REO before purchase. 

[topanga]

I saw a bunch of repeat episodes today and yesterday, and one thing I liked seeing was a 2015 episode where they donated the kitchen cabinets to Habitat for Humanity. I wish they would do that more. Usually they smash they cabinets to pieces, even when they're in good condition.