Flip Or Flop - General Discussion

[Portia]

It IS raspiness that comes from speaking in the glottal register.  Someone who's sick may not be able to avoid sounding "creaky," but VF can be controlled.  It's often characterized as an affectation, but it's so commonplace that people may not realize that they're doing it--they just speak the way their peers speak. I don't always notice it because it is so ubiquitous, but when I hear an extreme case like Christina's, I find myself wondering how someone can talk like that all the time without negative side effects. I'm a teacher, and if I let my voice slip down into my throat for an extended period of time, my throat is in bad shape by the end of the day!

Here's the Wikipedia entry on VF:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vocal_fry_register

There are some good examples in this video:

BTW, despite the title of that Youtube video, I'd argue that it's far beyond a "fad" at this point.  :-)

[Broderbits]

I apologize for extending this kind of off-topic talk, but the worst (actual) case of vocal fry I've heard is Mila Kunis in those Jim Beam commercials. It makes my throat hurt just to listen to her.

But Christina doesn't sound bad to my ears at all. I think AZSHADOWWALKER is absolutely right; after all, there's no equivalent criticism of the way men speak.

[Albino]

My main issue with Christina is that she never blinks when talking to the camera.  Maybe those false eyelashes and 6 coats of Lash Blast make her lids too heavy to lift?

She's so lovely...she doesn't need all that makeup. There was a pic of her in the hospital after giving birth to Brayden and her face was naked.  She looked beautiful.

[Portia]

Personally I DO notice severe focal fry in men as well. But I do acknowledge that there's a double standard--men don't typically get blasted for it--so I've tried to lighten up a bit overall and to check my prejudices at the door.  I expect professional speakers/broadcasters to have some knowledge of proper vocal technique.  (My daughter just completed her MFA in musical theater, and I know for a fact VF was covered in her course of study.)   Christina's training and expertise obviously lie elsewhere, obviously!   

I agree that she's gorgeous without the heavy makeup, but doodlebug made a good point: perhaps the Barbie doll look is more accepted in SoCal.

I'm sure I've said it before, and that others have said it as well, but I absolutely love that T & C are partners and that they seem to have a very solid marriage built on mutual respect.

Edited September 6, 2016 by Portia
friggin' typos

[topanga]

3 hours ago, Portia said:

I'm sure I've said it before, and that others have said it as well, but I absolutely love that T & C are partners and that they seem to have a very solid marriage built on mutual respect.

I agree with this -- 95% of the time. They usually communicate with mutual respect. There are times when Christina puts down Tarek for the sake of humor: "Eww. You like that? So typical of you, Tarek [C shakes her head]. That is the ugliest thing I've ever seen." And he's never that way with her. At most, he'll make a joke about her wanting to spend extra money for a renovation.

I do like that Christina is confident and doesn't wait for "permission" before sharing her ideas. She's assertive when it comes to design, but when it comes to the redesign of the house itself (knocking down walls, expanding bathrooms, etc.) she and Tarek are good at discussing, and sometimes debating, their ideas without arguments and without one person turning into a bully. Even when it seems like Tarek lets Christina win when she for example, chooses an expensive floor, clearly this is something they've agreed on ahead of time. 

6 hours ago, Broderbits said:

I apologize for extending this kind of off-topic talk, but the worst (actual) case of vocal fry I've heard is Mila Kunis in those Jim Beam commercials. It makes my throat hurt just to listen to her.

It's funny that I never noticed Mila's VF until you mentioned it, and I looked up the commercial. Now  I can't unhear it! I think women lower their voices and speak with a guttural intonation  in attempt to sound sexy or sultry, as MK did in the Jim Beam commercial. I watched Mila in Bad Moms, and I don't remember hearing a vocal fry at any point in the movie. As far as Meredith Grey being the initiator of the VF, as the video suggested, I don't agree with that. Ellen Pompeo played Meredith as the tired, overworked surgical intern that she was. Her voice was almost always low-pitched and gravelly. 

In terms of Christina, I've never noticed a vocal fry. Someone above mentioned that she might benefit from a speech coach. IMO, she speaks like someone who used to have a serious speech impediment. She definitely used to have a lisp that she has largely overcome. Every now and then, however, I hear it slip through. 

[BradandJanet]

I work around a lot of speech therapists and vocal fry gets discussed along with a thousand other topics. I hear VF in Christina, and I think the affect has increased over her years on TV. However, it doesn't bother me enough to make me change channels. My cringing comes when people are trying to have a conversation with me and all I hear is a talking bull frog. I think it's a style or habit that may be discarded as the speaker grows older and finds other ways to express themselves. 

[iMonrey]

Quote

but when I hear an extreme case like Christina's,

Seriously? I find it hard to believe anyone suffers from "extreme" vocal fry when I have never once noticed anything out of the ordinary about her voice, ever. And I've studied voice and diction in theater. I'm willing to believe such a thing exists, and I can see what you mean WRT Mila Kunis, but Christina? Really? I don't hear anything wrong with her voice. 

Now, sometimes there are specific pitches or registers in a person's voice that can irritate people simply because they have an extreme sensitivity to a particular range, but that doesn't mean there's something wrong with that person's voice. It means the person hearing it has a sensitivity issue or it means they are projecting an issue on that person because they are inclined to dislike them. "The sound of this person's voice irritates me" is something people generally say about someone they simply do not like. "Vocal fry" sound suspiciously like a more politically correct way of saying that.

[Gam2]

IMonrey, have you seen "Southern Charm" on Bravo? Check out Landon. Now there's some vocal fry for you. Christina seems to be a perfectly nice person, good wife, good mother and has good taste in designing the homes they renovate, although some of the tiles she's chosen aren't my particular taste. However, some of the comments made about her lisp, false eyelashes and false teeth are observations by viewers. They have nothing to do with her worth or value as a human being. No one is disputing those things. She put herself on television so she has to know that viewers are going to notice and comment on those things. 

[Portia]

4 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Seriously? I find it hard to believe anyone suffers from "extreme" vocal fry when I have never once noticed anything out of the ordinary about her voice, ever. And I've studied voice and diction in theater. I'm willing to believe such a thing exists, and I can see what you mean WRT Mila Kunis, but Christina? Really? I don't hear anything wrong with her voice. 

Now, sometimes there are specific pitches or registers in a person's voice that can irritate people simply because they have an extreme sensitivity to a particular range, but that doesn't mean there's something wrong with that person's voice. It means the person hearing it has a sensitivity issue or it means they are projecting an issue on that person because they are inclined to dislike them. "The sound of this person's voice irritates me" is something people generally say about someone they simply do not like. "Vocal fry" sound suspiciously like a more politically correct way of saying that.

I think it's fair to say there's an element of subjectivity here, particularly among those of us who are not speech professionals (myself included).   I'm guessing there's probably some disagreement among professionals. When I say that Christina is an extreme case of VF, that's my opinion based on my ears and the explanations of VF that I've heard and read. Your view may vary.

There's really nothing I can do to argue with someone who presumes to know my thoughts and motives, so I guess I'll leave it at that. 

[iMonrey]

There appears to be some ambiguity on what exactly "vocal fry" means. Having never heard the term before and then seeing it pop up with some regularity only recently, it doesn't appear to be a "raspy voice" in the sense of how a smoker or a person with a cold sounds (and that was my initial understanding based on an explanation above). Rather, it seems to be associated with what we old-timers used to call "valley-speak," which I referenced upthread as Christina's manner of speaking.

However, I don't think Christina qualifies for the more specific "fry" part where her voice trails off at the end of her sentences into a guttural growl like Jersey Shore reality contestants or Paris Hilton wanna-bes. I've never noticed her doing that. And that is something I'd pick up on immediately because it's one of my pet peeves, particularly in men. Bradley Cooper is one of the best examples of that kind of "fry" where his voice trails off into almost an air-less croak mid-sentence. That type of air-less speaking infuriates me to no end. Some women seem to find it "sexy" though. To each his own.

In any case, compared to the reality twits this linguistic fad seems to have been named after, I maintain that Christina couldn't be considered a "severe" case since I've never noticed her doing it, unless the terminology is applied so liberally as to include any girl who has a sing-songy type of valley-speak regardless of whether or not it trails off into a croak.

[ShellSeeker]

Hey guys, let's move the conversation on from the vocal fry issue and back to episode talk. You can continue the discussion in the Small Talk thread if you wish. Thanks!

[Artsda]

I just saw the Torrance episode where they were getting 1.2 million with the spa/putting green/outdoor bbq area. I loved the backyard and seeing Israel again!

He was excited at all the money Tarek and Christina were putting it. His making it rain was funny. I have missed him!

I never stop being amazing though at the price people pay in Southern California for real estate. 1600 sq ft and it's 1.2 million.

[Broderbits]

They didn't make much of a profit on tonight's flip in Riverside, but that backyard was spectacular! The pool, the views, even the bocce court; loved everything about it. The interior was well done and I also loved the fireplace tile Christina chose. 

[las68]

The house they flipped last night probably had the largest backyard of any property ever featured on this show, so far.  One acre, I think.  It also had views of a golf course, mountains and the skyline.  It was amazing!  So, can someone who is familiar with CA real estate please tell me why this house was so cheap?  They have sold houses on much smaller lots, with little or no view, much less square footage and in neighborhoods that looked a bit rough for much more money.   

I thought I was going to hate that fireplace tile.  I was really surprised how much I liked it once it was installed.   

[BrianneA]

2 hours ago, las68 said:

The house they flipped last night probably had the largest backyard of any property ever featured on this show, so far.  One acre, I think.  It also had views of a golf course, mountains and the skyline.  It was amazing!  So, can someone who is familiar with CA real estate please tell me why this house was so cheap?  They have sold houses on much smaller lots, with little or no view, much less square footage and in neighborhoods that looked a bit rough for much more money.   

I thought I was going to hate that fireplace tile.  I was really surprised how much I liked it once it was installed.   

Riverside is far east, in a different county. Most of the houses they do are in Orange county or southern los Angeles county (like the Torrance and long beach homes). They live inn Yorba Linda, which is on the northeastern edge of Orange County, so it was probably faster for them to get to riverside than Torrance. But I've never seen them do a home so far inland.  

[Albino]

14 hours ago, Broderbits said:

They didn't make much of a profit on tonight's flip in Riverside, but that backyard was spectacular! The pool, the views, even the bocce court; loved everything about it. The interior was well done and I also loved the fireplace tile Christina chose. 

So much for Christina's awesome price-setting abilities. I think the $10K they made was the lowest I've ever seen...but at least it'll keep Christina in mascara for a few months.  

I really liked the house...all the arches and big rooms and views were fabulous.  I'm probably in the minority here, but the tile on the fireplace was just meh to me.  It didn't "pop" as much as I hoped...maybe more vibrant colors would have helped me a bit.

Were there any trees in the back yard?  It just looked hot out there.  Very very hot.  I would likely not be spending much time out there until after sundown.  Not sure how much use the bocce court will get.  Last week, a putting green.  Now bocce ball.  What's next?  Batting cages?  Badminton court? 

[iMonrey]

I wondered about Riverside too. I guess location really is everything. That house was beautiful and in pretty good shape and had a huge lot with a great view, yet it sat on the market and they got it for only $450K. And after all the fabulous landscaping and updating they only got $699K for it? Wow. The house they sold two weeks ago for 1.2 million was a cracker box and didn't even have room for a pool. I'd rather have the Riverside house with its land and its views at the cheaper price than pay 1.2 million just to be a few miles closer to the beach. Ridiculous!

That said, I hated, hated the tile they used on the fireplace. Ugh! Way too busy. I also hated the hanging light fixtures they installed in the kitchen. They looked like the type of emergency lights construction workers use in mines. 

Quote

 I think the $10K they made was the lowest I've ever seen

They've made less than that, and even lost money on some of the flips, but we wouldn't know it if it weren't for the special "follow up" episodes. I hope they do some more of those.

Once again - the continuity was all over the map because of Tarek's hair. In some shots his head was practically shaved around the sides and back and then in the next shot his hair would be back to normal. I could hardly pay attention to the designs because I was so distracted by Tarek's ever changing haircut.

Edited September 9, 2016 by iMonrey

[marcee]

Best video on vocal fry I've seen... And I do think it's a "real" made-up thing, it's definitely measurable and Christina certainly suffers from the affliction.

 

[azshadowwalker]

Riverside is far enough from the cities to be relatively boring and (IMO) quite ugly, but close enough to have horrible smog. There's really nothing that recommends it. In fact, when I drive through the area, I always wonder why people don't just move to LA if they are going to breathe that filth. Cost is the major reason. 

Now, I will admit that Orange County isn't my thing, either. It's so horribly suburban in appearance. But there are decent musical venues there, a well-established music scene that produced some of the best hardcore bands of my youth,  and there is the beach. It's cooler in both temperature and culture than Riverside. 

I interviewed for jobs at both Cal State Fullerton and UC-Riverside. One of those I withdrew from consideration for after visiting. You can guess which one. ;) 

[Bastet]

Yeah, no offense to anyone here who lives in Riverside, but I wouldn't live there if the houses were free.  It used to be in the middle of nowhere, but as housing costs led people to buy further and further from Los Angeles - while still commuting in - a shit ton of generic developments went up and Riverside (and the areas between LA and Riverside) got more populated.  Housing is more expensive there now than it used to be because of this, but still far cheaper than equivalent homes in Los Angeles. 

[iMonrey]

Quote

Riverside is far enough from the cities to be relatively boring and (IMO) quite ugly, but close enough to have horrible smog.

But . . . how far a drive is it, if you live there and commute to, say, downtown Los Angeles? I just can't get over how cheap that house was compared to a lot of the other ones they've bought and sold and how little they got for it. Assuming it's not 2 hours away I'd still rather live there than that tiny place that cost 1.2 million.

[Bastet]

Oh yeah, it will easily be two hours in commuter traffic (it's about 60 miles just to downtown L.A. and a lot of people are commuting further into L.A. than that).

[Tosia]

Thanks so much, Marcee, for the video on vocal fry.  I thought I knew what it was,  but this vid sealed it.  I teach high school and will be on the lookout, but I haven't really noticed it much. ..much more valley girl talk still,  and the  always annoying voice going higher pitch with a questioning inflection at the end of a sentence,  ya knowwww?

[ByaNose]

I didn't like the fireplace.at.all. The tile looked my 70's linoleum flooring that I had in my kitchen. I don't think that was the look they were going for. The house was nice enough but they did a lot of work and only made a $10,000 profit? Yikes! I guess a profit is a profit, right?

[WildPlum]

The average high temp in Riverside in August is 95° but temps can and will climb into the 110° range. It is very dry (usually). The thing that back yard lacked was SHADE of any kind - the little pergola wasn't enough shade. Plus all that concrete will get so hot you can't walk on it in bare feet. Even the pool needs a shaded area in the summer.  Weather-wise the LA/Orange County basin is most bearable in summer in a fairly narrow strip maybe 2-4 miles along the coast, it starts getting quite hot as you get east of that.

Riverside - and the rest of the Inland Empire (San Bernardino and Riverside Counties) - got hit really hard during the housing build-up and crash and, by LA standards, the crime rate can be dismal out that way and the foreclosure rate was quite high for about 5 years.

The LA basin can only spread out in a couple directions - out toward Riverside and up into the high desert in Victorville/Hesperia and up the Grapevine (I5) and out from Santa Clarita into Palmdale and Lancaster. The commute from the remote ends into LA is frequently in the multiple-hour range, particularly in traffic.

[WildPlum]

On 9/9/2016 at 1:41 PM, iMonrey said:

But . . . how far a drive is it, if you live there and commute to, say, downtown Los Angeles? I just can't get over how cheap that house was compared to a lot of the other ones they've bought and sold and how little they got for it. Assuming it's not 2 hours away I'd still rather live there than that tiny place that cost 1.2 million.

My son drives 44 miles to work from his house in Upland, CA to downtown LA (Monterey Park, actually, which is a few miles east of downtown) and it is about 2 hours if he has to be there by 8am. Riverside is about 25 miles further east of where he lives, so add time on to that.

[auntjess]

Is there no commuter rail service?

Just googled it, and see there is MetroLink.

Edited September 11, 2016 by auntjess

[WildPlum]

14 minutes ago, auntjess said:

Is there no commuter rail service?

Just googled it, and see there is MetroLink.

The problem with Metrolink is that the area is SO spread out, it may not go where you want. In LA, most people work somewhere other than downtown LA - sure it is a central business district, but there are a lot of CBDs in LA and with Metro you end up going from hub to hub and then back out wherever you want to go and it ends up being not that much faster than driving to your destination.

If you were just going from Riverside to Union Station in Downtown LA, it would about 1 hour 30 minutes (time on the train, not including getting to the station and then out to your destination) and would be $26 roundtrip (a monthly pass is $425). And that is a relatively direct route.

[ByaNose]

1 hour ago, WildPlum said:

The average high temp in Riverside in August is 95° but temps can and will climb into the 110° range. It is very dry (usually). The thing that back yard lacked was SHADE of any kind - the little pergola wasn't enough shade. Plus all that concrete will get so hot you can't walk on it in bare feet. Even the pool needs a shaded area in the summer.  Weather-wise the LA/Orange County basin is most bearable in summer in a fairly narrow strip maybe 2-4 miles along the coast, it starts getting quite hot as you get east of that.

Riverside - and the rest of the Inland Empire (San Bernardino and Riverside Counties) - got hit really hard during the housing build-up and crash and, by LA standards, the crime rate can be dismal out that way and the foreclosure rate was quite high for about 5 years.

The LA basin can only spread out in a couple directions - out toward Riverside and up into the high desert in Victorville/Hesperia and up the Grapevine (I5) and out from Santa Clarita into Palmdale and Lancaster. The commute from the remote ends into LA is frequently in the multiple-hour range, particularly in traffic.

I never understood the pergolas. They don't really protect you from the intense sun and forget the rain. In theory, they are pretty but so impractical. I mean they didn't even put a cheap umbrella for the table. I know it's just staging but it wouldn't kill you to add some coverage. Also, that house looked like it was no where. It was on a big hill near a golf course but that was it. 

[auntjess]

I think the idea is that you get shade at a certain time of day, but I'm with you.

Paul LaFrance uses them a lot too.  I'd like to give the pegola placer an umbrella that's only ribs, to use.  Seems the same thing to me.

Edited September 11, 2016 by auntjess

[cattykit]

I had occasion to be in Anaheim two weeks ago, and an old friend of mine who had moved from Santa Clarita to Riverside (to be closer to family) came out to have lunch with me.  She left at 3 to go back to Riverside, and she reported two hours later she had just gotten home, 28 miles from where she started. 

"Profit" isn't just cash outlay; how many man/woman hours did T&C use up going back and forth from OC to Riverside?  I know they're not typical flippers in that they undoubtedly draw a nice salary from HGTV, but anyone else flipping multiple properties would have incurred massive opportunity costs associated with that commute.

[Angeltoes]

I always laugh when Christina says,"We're going to look at a house.  We'll drop the kids off at Grandma's."  Speaking as a Grandma myself, doesn't Christina's mother have a life?  Does she just sit in the living room window like a dog and wait for her grandkids to be dropped off on their whim?

[Zoe]

So far these summer flips don't seem worth it financially (and surely the last one counts as a "flop"... yikes). They can get so much more profit in the mid-range houses.

[Vickismom]

11 hours ago, cattykit said:

I had occasion to be in Anaheim two weeks ago, and an old friend of mine who had moved from Santa Clarita to Riverside (to be closer to family) came out to have lunch with me.  She left at 3 to go back to Riverside, and she reported two hours later she had just gotten home, 28 miles from where she started. 

"Profit" isn't just cash outlay; how many man/woman hours did T&C use up going back and forth from OC to Riverside?  I know they're not typical flippers in that they undoubtedly draw a nice salary from HGTV, but anyone else flipping multiple properties would have incurred massive opportunity costs associated with that commute.

T&C live in Yorba Linda, so going out to Riverside from there isn't that bad, considering they've done houses in Torrance and Long Beach.  Plus, if they are going during typical traffic hours, it is against traffic compared to the others.  I live in Chino Hills, just over the hills from Yorba Linda, and I would much rather go to Riverside than Torrance, Long Beach and other areas that they've worked in.  However, only $10K profit is probably not worth it for them.  In the follow up shows, they've discussed how they considered a profit of a similar amount a flop.  

[doodlebug]

18 hours ago, cattykit said:

"Profit" isn't just cash outlay; how many man/woman hours did T&C use up going back and forth from OC to Riverside?  I know they're not typical flippers in that they undoubtedly draw a nice salary from HGTV, but anyone else flipping multiple properties would have incurred massive opportunity costs associated with that commute.

Here's the thing: I think the entire decision to do this flip was based on HGTV's desire for episodes for their 'Selling Summer' extravaganza.  T&C noted that this was the largest backyard they'd ever done; it's the first time they've installed a pool.  So, the fact that they clearly overimproved the property above and beyond comps in Riverside; indicates to me, at least, that most if not all, of the decision making in this episode was based on what would make good TV and appeal to a national TV audience.

Obviously, as people here have noted, Riverside has some challenges when it comes to climate.  Personally, I'd rather put up with snow than searing hot temps above 100 for the better part of the year.  There were some improvements that would've made the space more appealing to folks looking to live in Riverside; awnings over the pool, etc. which weren't even discussed.  Why? Because the average Joe in the audience wouldn't even consider stuff like that in their own backyard.  I suspect that at least a portion of the materials they use are comped by manufacturers who hope to use the show to advertise.  Therefore, they've got to show stuff that appeals to the masses, not just to those melting out in the desert.

I suspect that T&C only purchased this property because TPTB at HGTV wanted to do a big yard with a pool and the house in Riverside fit the bill and was fairly cheap, to boot.  How much would they have paid for that house in Orange County?  For that matter, how many properties in Orange County come with that much undeveloped land?

So, IMO, the only reason this flip was done was for the purposes of the show.  T&C never expected to make a profit; they've shown themselves to be pretty savvy investors. They also were surely aware of the sorts of outdoor spaces that would be needed for Riverside and that it wouldn't be the kind of stuff that the average viewer would relate to. Instead, I think they were undoubtedly compensated by production/HGTVto get the episode done for the 'Selling Summer' promo; so they pretended that the climate and commute issues didn't exist and did a yard that would look good on TV.

Edited September 11, 2016 by doodlebug

[auntjess]

19 minutes ago, doodlebug said:

Here's the thing: I think the entire decision to do this flip was based on TLC's desire for episodes for their 'Selling Summer' extravaganza

Agree.  They've got a lot of yard shows already.
I liked Ahmed Hassan, who was a horticulturist and actually cared about growing things, but they, or DIY=same company- got rid of him in favor of people who build huge outdoor kitchens and placed water features and all fire pits.
 

[Eeksquire]

Quote

I always laugh when Christina says,"We're going to look at a house.  We'll drop the kids off at Grandma's."  Speaking as a Grandma myself, doesn't Christina's mother have a life?  Does she just sit in the living room window like a dog and wait for her grandkids to be dropped off on their whim?

I figure all of that is staged and filmed way after the fact - they probably film those for the whole series over the course of 2-3 days; I can't imagine they have a whole crew set up and break down cameras and audio to catch a 15 minute conversation over and over again.  Much easier and more cost effective to have T&C change clothes five times and do all the intros at once.

[chessiegal]

This show is on HGTV, not TLC. HGTV is owned by Scripps network. TLC is owned by Discover Communications - 2 different companies.

[Zoe]

4 hours ago, Eeksquire said:

I figure all of that is staged and filmed way after the fact - they probably film those for the whole series over the course of 2-3 days; I can't imagine they have a whole crew set up and break down cameras and audio to catch a 15 minute conversation over and over again.  Much easier and more cost effective to have T&C change clothes five times and do all the intros at once.

I would agree if it weren't for Taylor. They actually seem to have trouble controlling her when the cameras are rolling, lol.

[doodlebug]

1 hour ago, chessiegal said:

This show is on HGTV, not TLC. HGTV is owned by Scripps network. TLC is owned by Discover Communications - 2 different companies.

Thanks, I corrected my post.  I still think the network told them what sorts of stuff they wanted to film and the house was chosen based on its suitability for the show, not because there was a profit to be made with that particular renovation of that particular home.

They undoubtedly purchase the homes and the TPTB assess them for suitability for the show long before they film the househunting.  After all, they cannot possibly win every bidding war, or find every single house they look at flipworthy. 

T&C, or, more likely, their employees, go out and look at homes; probably with a shopping list provided by the producers and network (ie,house with large empty yard where a pool and a bunch of other stuff can be placed).  Once TPTB approve the purchase, or, if T&C feel its worth a flip even if they don't use it for the show; the place gets purchased. Finally, filming 'recreates' those events for the show.  Otherwise, they'd be wasting hours and hours, days and days following T&C while they looked at houses that wouldn't work for the show or bid on houses they didn't get.

[topanga]

2 hours ago, Zoe said:

I would agree if it weren't for Taylor. They actually seem to have trouble controlling her when the cameras are rolling, lol.

That's actually my favorite part of the show--the scenes with Taylor (and now Brayden). They're the most spontaneous. 

 

On 9/10/2016 at 7:54 PM, ByaNose said:

 

I didn't like the fireplace.at.all. The tile looked my 70's linoleum flooring that I had in my kitchen. I don't think that was the look they were going for. The house was nice enough but they did a lot of work and only made a $10,000 profit? Yikes! I guess a profit is a profit, right?

 

Yeah, what's the deal with all of the decorative tile this summer? Did T & C purchase boxes of it at a fire sale?

[azshadowwalker]

On 9/9/2016 at 1:41 PM, iMonrey said:

But . . . how far a drive is it, if you live there and commute to, say, downtown Los Angeles? I just can't get over how cheap that house was compared to a lot of the other ones they've bought and sold and how little they got for it. Assuming it's not 2 hours away I'd still rather live there than that tiny place that cost 1.2 million.

When I lived in the Bay Area, it took me over an hour and sometimes up to 2 to drive to my job 25 miles away. If I took BART and Caltrain, it was 3 hours, if it wasn't the one day a month a suicide jumped in front of a train or the once a week that a train broke down. Commuting in large California metropolitan areas is a nightmare. People do make those commutes, but they are just one of a dozen reasons that I moved back to Arizona. 

Edited September 12, 2016 by azshadowwalker

[mojito]

The fireplace tile, while not something I would select for myself, is also not something that I would insist on removing. I'm sure it would grow on me. The backyard, though, for me, was horrible. Don't agree with Christina's assessment that the yard was "literally perfect". 

For the life of me, I don't understand all the hardscaping that people surround their pools with. Before the water went in, you could hardly see the pool in the midst of all that concrete. What's the point of all those feet of sidewalk surrounding a tiny pool?   I also don't understand why you'd put in a pool that is too small for someone other than a small child to swim in. Waste of money. If you care that much about water conservation, you wouldn't get a pool to begin with. Isn't a smaller pool going to be hotter? Wouldn't all that hardscaping make it hotter still? Surely there must be better materials to use to border a pool that won't mean a lot of debris going into the water.

A bocce court? How many people are going to use that after they try it a few times? Neighboring cats would probably get more use out of it. I think installing a multi-use court for basketball and paddle tennis/pickleball would appeal to more people and get plenty of use if you have kids or are a semi-active adult. Also, I can see kids getting covered in sand and then jumping into the pool for a washing off. Let's not forget the sand that will blow in it, too. 

Not enough shade in the yard. A pergola is fine if you want some filtered sun, but in that yard, there needed to be a solid covering for shade, too. Considering how "hot" the non-sweating Tarek declares it to be, you'd think he'd want to provide more shade. 

[Minivanessa]

I think the mods told us to bring over here, the discussion of whether Christina does or doesn't have "vocal fry."

I don't have any particular opinion about that, but I did notice on a couple of episodes, I think not long before Brayden was born, she really overused "obsess and/or obsessed." I think it's some kind of trend right now, maybe California-based.

She was talking to Tarek about a completed renovation, I think it was a really old house where she had to bow out and he did it without her. She said things like, "That backsplash looks great. I know buyers are just going to obsess over it." Same kind of comment for something else. And in another episode she said something like she "was obsessed over" something - maybe a neighborhood or home feature.

I didn't keep a list, but I noticed her using "obsess" and "obsessed" that way a few times. I hope she's now gotten over using that turn of phrase. I find it strange and kind of annoying.

[topanga]

I noticed an intermittent VF during this most recent episode--but only because I was listening for one. It's not something that would have distracted me. Unlike, for example, some of the women on House Hunters. Some of their voices are straight-up annoying. 

[iMonrey]

Quote

I still think the network told them what sorts of stuff they wanted to film and the house was chosen based on its suitability for the show, not because there was a profit to be made with that particular renovation of that particular home.

Agreed - I think it's more likely HGTV came up with this "Selling Summer" gimmick and then T&C had to find properties to fit the theme. Flip or Flop seems like one of HGTV's hottest shows right now; it's one of the constant weekend marathons, right up there with Property Brothers, Love it or List It and the many House Hunters iterations. 

I watched that Tina Fey/Amy Poehler movie "Sisters" on HBO Friday and they even name-checked "Flip or Flop" in that, LOL. 

[jabinlbc]

Does anyone know where (general area) the recent Long Beach flip was located?  I was thinking somewhere near El Dorado Park???

[Maya]

I wonder if the deep talking (vocal fry) began as a way to manage the lisp? Just a guess. 

[psychoticstate]

The house they flipped last night probably had the largest backyard of any property ever featured on this show, so far.  One acre, I think.  It also had views of a golf course, mountains and the skyline.  It was amazing!  So, can someone who is familiar with CA real estate please tell me why this house was so cheap?  They have sold houses on much smaller lots, with little or no view, much less square footage and in neighborhoods that looked a bit rough for much more money.   

I thought I was going to hate that fireplace tile.  I was really surprised how much I liked it once it was installed.   

Riverside is cheaper than Orange and LA counties (although by means cheap compared to other areas in the US) because it's inland, traffic is a major bitch (the 91 and 15/215 freeways in that area can make you homicidal), smog can settle over the city due to the mountains and lack of breeze to push it through and it's hotter than a mofo.   You most definitely get more house for your money but your a/c bills throughout summer will be crippling, especially if you have a large house.  And "summer" can run into December. 

I live in SoCal by the beach.  Last summer was brutal at the beach so I could only imagine what kind of special hell it must have been in Riverside (where temps are normally a good 15-20 degrees hotter than coastal areas.) 

That said, the house was beautiful and I also thought I would hate the fireplace tile and thought it turned out nice and went well with the house. 

[psychoticstate]

On 9/10/2016 at 9:00 PM, cattykit said:

I had occasion to be in Anaheim two weeks ago, and an old friend of mine who had moved from Santa Clarita to Riverside (to be closer to family) came out to have lunch with me.  She left at 3 to go back to Riverside, and she reported two hours later she had just gotten home, 28 miles from where she started. 

The bad traffic into Riverside on the 91 most definitely starts by 3.  I left the John Wayne Airport area on a Wednesday at 3, took the 261 toll road to the 91 to get into Riverside to meet a friend at 4:30.  I figured I'd be fine.  Nope.   As soon as I hit the 91 it was dead stopped.  And crawled the entire way.  It took me around an hour and forty minutes.

No way would I deal with that on a daily basis.  I'd have to move.