Flip Or Flop - General Discussion

[CrazyInAlabama]

I think Battres Construction (Izzy and his brother Rudy's company) bid on houses to rehab for  T & C.    It's also possible that Izzy scouts houses for Tarek, and I know he did this on an early episode, and then they get the contract.   I remember another episode when T & C were doing a higher end house, and Izzy showed them what his company's flip in the same neighborhood looked like, and the level of the finishes and materials that would be required to match the neighborhood.

I swear some of the contractors had T & C under their names a few seasons ago, but the same ones (like Jeff) now have what I guess is their own company name.    I wonder if T & C found out that having contractors bid on jobs saved money.    I remember in the first season or so they had two or three different contractors go through the house, and bid on the job. 

The house this week was fine, but not spectacular.    

I'm sad when I see the old episodes with Frank the Tank, who died of Cancer.    

My guess is a lot of the contractors don't want to work with  T & C, because of the filming requirement on top of their work.   I'm sure that the filming takes a lot of extra hours, and slows everything down. 

Edited September 14, 2019 by CrazyInAlabama

[iMonrey]

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I really liked the first house that Tarek did all those years ago...cute little house. 

What's interesting is that he said it was one of the first houses he flipped and it was around the same time he first met Christina. That sort of contradicts the premise this show had early on, which is that they were both realtors who started flipping when the housing market collapsed. Apparently he's been flipping all along, and probably just got his real estate license to cut out the middle man and save the commission.

[Ohmo]

On 9/7/2019 at 3:08 PM, CrazyInAlabama said:

My understanding is Jeff and the other contractors actually are the work supervisors for T & C's business.

I thought Jeff had a different construction company in his orange identification blurb.  I didn't think it was T&C Construction.  Maybe they contract with him like they do Izzy.

I wonder what happened to Steve, the mild-mannered contractor from several seasons ago?  I liked him, but it seems that he's no longer working with Tarek and Christina.  He also worked for an outside company, not T&C Construction.

[doodlebug]

2 hours ago, Ohmo said:

I wonder what happened to Steve, the mild-mannered contractor from several seasons ago?  I liked him, but it seems that he's no longer working with Tarek and Christina.  He also worked for an outside company, not T&C Construction.

According to Steve’s website, he left to develop his own show.  I don’t think it worked out for him.

[iMonrey]

Yeah, they've had a few contractors we no longer see working with them. I'm willing to bet some of them were asking for a piece of the pie in order to be on the show, or weren't willing to play ball with them on free/cheap labor in exchange for publicity.

[suebee12]

I came here to see how many people noticed that the kitchen backsplash was the same one that the woman picked out on House Hunter's Renovation but no one has been here! Has the show dropped that much that no one is watching? I record it and watch when there is nothing else on but so far, it hasn't been too bad this year.

[Broderbits]

2 hours ago, suebee12 said:

I came here to see how many people noticed that the kitchen backsplash was the same one that the woman picked out on House Hunter's Renovation but no one has been here! Has the show dropped that much that no one is watching?

I watch this show but not HHR - I'm just sick to death of the homeowners on HGTV.

The kitchen backsplash looked nice but I didn't care for the blue tile on the fireplace, it didn't seem to coordinate very well. And I know everyone just has to have open concept, but the view from entrance to kitchen seemed too open, bordering on cavernous. It felt cold, which actually might be a plus in SoCal.

[MsTree]

11 hours ago, suebee12 said:

I came here to see how many people noticed that the kitchen backsplash was the same one that the woman picked out on House Hunter's Renovation but no one has been here! Has the show dropped that much that no one is watching? I record it and watch when there is nothing else on but so far, it hasn't been too bad this year.

Yes, I did notice that!  I still watch via DVR, and agree it's not too bad. I just wish Christina would stop with the eyerolls and/or trying to get in a jab at Tarek. It's not funny or cute.

If the Flipping Exes (or whatever it's called) can work together without all the bs, so can you Christina.

[iMonrey]

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I came here to see how many people noticed that the kitchen backsplash was the same one that the woman picked out on House Hunter's Renovation but no one has been here!

Didn't see the HH episode you are referencing. At first I thought that backsplash was God-awful, but when it was up on the wall I liked it better. Sometimes the little 2' x 2' samples can look completely different than the big picture. Mine was kind of that way too - the backsplash I picked out made my contractor give me the side-eye, but once it was up he liked it.

I thought it was funny that Christina kept saying the exterior paint Tarek chose looked blue. I could see that it was definitely gray, but looked blue compared to the darker gray she picked. But once the whole house was painted that color, it did look blue!

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I just wish Christina would stop with the eyerolls and/or trying to get in a jab at Tarek. It's not funny or cute.

Agreed, she needs to knock that off. If Tarek did that to her as often as she did that to him it would be called abusive.

[Angeltoes]

Tarek bought his new girlfriend a car for her birthday.  This isn't going to end well.

[Kenzie]

3 hours ago, Angeltoes said:

Tarek bought his new girlfriend a car for her birthday.  This isn't going to end well.

No, it's not.

And not only is it financially stupid to spend a couple of hundred grand on a new girlfriend but it reeks of his need to impress the girlfriend and one-up Christina. Does he really think the HGTV cash-cow is going to last forever?

[ByaNose]

On 9/14/2019 at 12:12 PM, iMonrey said:

Didn't see the HH episode you are referencing. At first I thought that backsplash was God-awful, but when it was up on the wall I liked it better. Sometimes the little 2' x 2' samples can look completely different than the big picture. Mine was kind of that way too - the backsplash I picked out made my contractor give me the side-eye, but once it was up he liked it.

I thought it was funny that Christina kept saying the exterior paint Tarek chose looked blue. I could see that it was definitely gray, but looked blue compared to the darker gray she picked. But once the whole house was painted that color, it did look blue!

Agreed, she needs to knock that off. If Tarek did that to her as often as she did that to him it would be called abusive.

She has to roll her eyes or else she won’t have anything else to do. She doesn’t do renovation, she doesn’t paint, & she doesn’t tile. In fact, she contributes very little to the flip or show itself. 

[MsTree]

6 hours ago, ByaNose said:

She has to roll her eyes or else she won’t have anything else to do. She doesn’t do renovation, she doesn’t paint, & she doesn’t tile. In fact, she contributes very little to the flip or show itself. 

True. Then she should just go shopping for "design", nod and give us all a fake smile if she wants the gravy train to continue moving along.

[doodlebug]

8 hours ago, MsTree said:

True. Then she should just go shopping for "design", nod and give us all a fake smile if she wants the gravy train to continue moving along.

And even her shopping for 'design' is limited to the same couple of tile samples and paint in either white, black or gray with the occasional bit of dark blue thrown in for contrast.  She 'chooses' the same tile designs over and over again, the same cabinets, the same countertops, the same door handles...... 

[MsTree]

I must say that they were much more civil to one another on tonight's show...even to the point of laughing together. Hope they can keep that attitude up.

On a different note, I liked Tarek's 'George Michael' look 😍

[CrazyInAlabama]

I hated the bathroom tile in last night's house in Irvine.    And what was on the wall in the master bedroom?   It looked like mold, or at least water damage.    I didn't really like the huge beam in the dining/kitchen.   

The house they did a few weeks ago with the denim tile that was a mistake to put in the shower was horrible.    I bet they saw how it turned out, and then filmed the 'which tile should we pick for the shower' scene, because they had already picked the darker color.   Anything to add drama to the show.  

Edited September 21, 2019 by CrazyInAlabama

[iMonrey]

Flip in Irvine: I actually thought the beam worked. But a big "no" to the geometric tile back splash in the kitchen. Also? I know this is now a very common and popular thing, but I do not like tile on fireplaces. I'm sorry, I'm old. Tile belongs in the bathroom, and maybe in the kitchen. Tile does not belong in the living room. I do not want elements of the bathroom brought into my living room. Now, get offa my lawn!

LOL on Tarek's "mobile office." It didn't look like he and Jeff were getting much "work" done on the road, unless "loafing back in recliner seats" is considered "work." 

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I must say that they were much more civil to one another on tonight's show...even to the point of laughing together. Hope they can keep that attitude up.

Agreed. The contrast between this season and last is striking. Maybe they took an extra long break to cool off. The tension between them last season was palpable. They seem to have calmed down and found a way to work. They don't even bicker that much over design choices or money either. 

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She has to roll her eyes or else she won’t have anything else to do. She doesn’t do renovation, she doesn’t paint, & she doesn’t tile. In fact, she contributes very little to the flip or show itself. 

I think "Christina on the Coast" demonstrated that point pretty well. I never realized before how important Tarek was. C on the C has really made me appreciate old school F or F. 

[Ohmo]

9 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I hated the bathroom tile in last night's house in Irvine. 

Sorry, I have a serious case of shower envy.  Liked the title, too.  They created a roll-in shower without intending to do so.  I have one of those, but this one has all sorts of extra maneuvering room.  Loved everything about it.  Too bad it's on the second floor in a house that's full of stairs.

ETA:

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They seem to have calmed down and found a way to work. They don't even bicker that much over design choices or money either. 

I think they've both realized that they HAVE to get along.  They have expensive lifestyles in an expensive part of the country.  Their celebrity is also a package deal even though they are no longer married to each other.  When you hear "Tarek," you automatically think "Christina" and vice versa.  They will always be tied together in fame, no matter what they try and do individually.  Since fame is how they get all of this money, they have to get along.

Edited September 21, 2019 by Ohmo

[Grrarrggh]

According to pretty much everyone who has a programme on HGTV I am the ONLY person in America who doesn't want all the public space in my house to be one giant room. Can this be true??

[CruiseDiva]

2 hours ago, Grrarrggh said:

According to pretty much everyone who has a programme on HGTV I am the ONLY person in America who doesn't want all the public space in my house to be one giant room. Can this be true??

No. My house has real rooms. Living room, dining room, family room, kitchen with breakfast room. You couldn't pay me to live in a house with open concept.

[CouchTater]

I have a small-ish condo with a great room that has a 2-story ceiling.  My bedroom is loft-style and overlooks the great room.  The cooking smells and general sounds float right into my room.  The sounds of the tv in the great room are louder in my bedroom on the second floor than they actually are in the great room!  Ugh.  

I'm saving now to get the half wall in the bedroom completed to the ceiling so that I have that barrier.  I love the loft-ness, but it's not practical.

Also, the tall ceiling collects spider webs and dust like that's its job!  It's almost impossible to clean.  😞

[Kenzie]

5 hours ago, Grrarrggh said:

According to pretty much everyone who has a programme on HGTV I am the ONLY person in America who doesn't want all the public space in my house to be one giant room. Can this be true??

You are not alone! I want to work in my kitchen without an audience or having to listen to someone's TV show droning on a few feet away. I don't want any view of my kitchen seen from the front door and I definitely don't want my fridge or dishwaser a few feet away from my couch. 

[ByaNose]

There was way too much tile pattern going on in the shower. I actually think Christina was right when she said keep it all white. That said, I hated her stupid arrow tile in the entry way. It is amazing how much the house was and it barely had a backyard let alone a patch of grass. I’ll pass. 

[Grrarrggh]

What was the point of Christine in that last episode? Seemed like it all could have been easily done without her. 

[suebee12]

12 hours ago, Grrarrggh said:

What was the point of Christine in that last episode?

She needs to work for her money!🤑

[iMonrey]

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What was the point of Christine in that last episode?

Fixed that for you.

[sheetmoss]

On 9/18/2019 at 11:56 AM, doodlebug said:

And even her shopping for 'design' is limited to the same couple of tile samples and paint in either white, black or gray with the occasional bit of dark blue thrown in for contrast.  She 'chooses' the same tile designs over and over again, the same cabinets, the same countertops, the same door handles...... 

When I stat to get slightly triggered over the repetition of tile, flr and color choices  - I have to remind myself this isn't a design show  and the finished look is done  to sell-- and you have a very narrow range of adding any personality because then it becomes too taste specific

Thinking back, there wasn't a lot of personality in those model homes we used to tour either when I was a kid.

Edited September 23, 2019 by sheetmoss

[topanga]

On 9/22/2019 at 9:27 AM, ByaNose said:

There was way too much tile pattern going on in the shower. I actually think Christina was right when she said keep it all white.

3 hours ago, suebee12 said:

She needs to work for her money!🤑

Christina doesn't even argue much anymore when Tarek presents a stupid idea--or disagrees with one of her ideas. I don't think she cares much anymore. She just wants to make enough to raise her kids and fund her lifestyle.

Does she still have her expensive AF clothing line? 

And was her show renewed? (sorry if OT)

[ByaNose]

1 hour ago, topanga said:

Christina doesn't even argue much anymore when Tarek presents a stupid idea--or disagrees with one of her ideas. I don't think she cares much anymore. She just wants to make enough to raise her kids and fund her lifestyle.

Does she still have her expensive AF clothing line? 

And was her show renewed? (sorry if OT)

I think her show was renewed & Tarek was given one of his own as well.

[valdawn]

10 hours ago, topanga said:

Christina doesn't even argue much anymore when Tarek presents a stupid idea--or disagrees with one of her ideas. I don't think she cares much anymore. She just wants to make enough to raise her kids and fund her lifestyle.

Does she still have her expensive AF clothing line? 

And was her show renewed? (sorry if OT)

She had a clothing line? What was it? Workout pants and shirts with dumb sayings on them? 

[topanga]

2 hours ago, valdawn said:

She had a clothing line? What was it? Workout pants and shirts with dumb sayings on them? 

She had a swimwear line at one time. There was controversy about one ad with her and Taylor posing in skimpy bikinis. 

[iMonrey]

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Christina doesn't even argue much anymore when Tarek presents a stupid idea--or disagrees with one of her ideas.

Yeah but that makes me think they have reached some sort of agreement to avoid unnecessary arguments after last season when the tension between them was so palpable. It wouldn't surprise me if HGTV stepped in and made them sit down with a conflict management specialist or something, and they had to agree to some set of rules when it came to disagreements. I see "use your tools" written all over this. They are agreeing to things much more rapidly now than when they were "happily" married back in Season 1. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

They're showing a much earlier season, just after the son was born, and Frank Miller (Frank the Tank, who sadly died of cancer) was the supervisor on the job, and he's wearing the T & C company shirt.    So either they did have a few of their own in  house contractors, or they had some contractors wear the shirts, and show the logo for publicity for their own business.   In another episode around the same time, Jake the contractor has the same shirt.   I bet they found it was just as easy to have two or three contractors bid on a flip, and not hire their own.  

That 3-D back splash kitchen tile from a couple of weeks ago was hideous.   If I had the money to buy one of their houses, I would wave bye-bye to that one. 

Last night's home was boring.    No matter how many years of this show I watch, I'm still amazed at the prices for homes that are totally disgusting inside, and need the junk haulers to clean out the house, and yard. 

Edited September 27, 2019 by CrazyInAlabama

[iMonrey]

Yeah, the amount of homes they find soaked in cat urine is astounding. Who the hell puts a house on the market filled with cat boxes and cat poop? They must not care if it sells or not, or what for. Either that or they are all foreclosures. I mean that makes more sense but they never acknowledge they're dealing with a bank. Even if it's a house you inherited wouldn't you want to clean it up to get a decent price?

That house had a weird layout for sure. And I'm not sure about tying the master bath plumbing into the kitchen plumbing either. You really want your toilet flushing down the kitchen sink? Usually the toilets tie into the main stack. Although, admittedly I don't know how it works in slab foundations. 

[doodlebug]

15 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Yeah, the amount of homes they find soaked in cat urine is astounding. Who the hell puts a house on the market filled with cat boxes and cat poop? They must not care if it sells or not, or what for. Either that or they are all foreclosures. I mean that makes more sense but they never acknowledge they're dealing with a bank. Even if it's a house you inherited wouldn't you want to clean it up to get a decent price?

That house had a weird layout for sure. And I'm not sure about tying the master bath plumbing into the kitchen plumbing either. You really want your toilet flushing down the kitchen sink? Usually the toilets tie into the main stack. Although, admittedly I don't know how it works in slab foundations. 

I think they buy a lot of foreclosures.  Back in the early days, we used to see them at auctions occasionally.   Even so, I expect that at least a little of it is producer driven and we're supposed to think it is hi-larious that gorgeous, glamorous Christina has to walk through filthy houses that smell of cat pee while moaning and complaining about it.  All the while wearing Louboutin sandals.

It makes no sense at all otherwise that someone, even the bank, wouldn't hire a clean-up crew to go out to the house and haul away the major debris. 

The layout for the house was awful, they improved it a little bit when they added the door to the backyard off the narrow hallway, but, still, I was not surprised that they hadn't found a buyer yet.  According to their own comparables, they priced that place at the top of the range and I expect most comparable homes don't have such a weird layout which is far harder to remedy than a lot of other flaws.

Edited September 27, 2019 by doodlebug

[suebee12]

I think this happened on a Flip or Flop in the early days but does anyone else remember the foreclosed house that someone had poured concrete down all the drains and toilets? What a mess. The people foreclosed on take what they can and damages everything else because they blame the banks, not themselves!

[Broderbits]

1 hour ago, suebee12 said:

I think this happened on a Flip or Flop in the early days but does anyone else remember the foreclosed house that someone had poured concrete down all the drains and toilets?

Yep, I remember that clearly; it was pretty revolting. In the earlier shows they had quite a few houses that were trashed by former occupants in fits of "if I can't have you, no one can".

[CrazyInAlabama]

The concrete in the drains house also had a ton of graffiti on the walls, and a bunch of other damage.    i'm sure it was the previous owners because all of the paint was the same color, and the drawings all looked about the same.  

[ByaNose]

Long Beach - It was an okay House. There wasn’t any family room and wasn’t the master bedroom of the house too big? It took up the whole house. I’m glad they added a door to get to the backyard. The bathrooms turned out nice. The blue title was nice but it stood out against the white. I know it’s supposed to but the different textures didn’t blend well. The blue color on the house was nice but this is a time I wouldn’t have minded a hello front door. The White was kind of blah. That said, I can see why it didn’t (hasn’t) sold right away. It was a small house with a small kitchen while they did a good job with the kitchen footprint it really was too small for that listing price. IMO!

[deirdra]

On 9/17/2019 at 7:28 PM, Kenzie said:

And not only is it financially stupid to spend a couple of hundred grand on a new girlfriend but it reeks of his need to impress the girlfriend and one-up Christina. Does he really think the HGTV cash-cow is going to last forever?

And he acted like an ass talking to the contractor in his new "mobile office", with driver no less.  None of the other TV house flippers splurge that much on themselves.

Edited October 3, 2019 by deirdra

[iMonrey]

Looks like that's it for new episodes, except for these repurposed reruns my DVR thinks are new because they've added little interview clips with T&C, and shadow box "tips" for renovation. I remembered that first house because of the floor safe with the costume jewelry inside.

The new episode was kind of a wash, I don't see them making much profit on it. I don't know how famous that architect was supposed to be but it's damn weird his houses had no front door, and the "courtyard" outside the main entry was dinky and unimpressive. I get the appeal of opening up the house and giving it back its original indoor-outdoor living feel but they tore out two huge additions and really reduced the living space.

[Sandiscot]

4 hours ago, iMonrey said:

The new episode was kind of a wash, I don't see them making much profit on it. I don't know how famous that architect was supposed to be but it's damn weird his houses had no front door, and the "courtyard" outside the main entry was dinky and unimpressive. I get the appeal of opening up the house and giving it back its original indoor-outdoor living feel but they tore out two huge additions and really reduced the living space.

Cliff May is very well known in Southern California. He grew up in San Diego. May was the originator of the California ranch-style house.

http://friendsofsdarch.com/cliff-may-1908-1989/

http://ranchostyle.com/cliffnotes.html

[doodlebug]

The FTC has stopped Tarek and Christina's real estate seminars alleging that they are scams.  Which they are.  The complaint alleges that they are sponsoring 'free' seminars, which they don't actually attend and which are used to pitch a $2000 3 day extravaganza.  Attendees at that one were urged to put the tab on their charge cards or even apply for more credit to pay for more training.  Eventually, it can cost over $40,000 to gain the wisdom they have to impart.

Tarek better have leased that Ferrari for his girlfriend.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/hgtv-flip-flop-stars-tarek-004021758.html

Edited October 5, 2019 by doodlebug

[chessiegal]

I remember years ago getting an invite to a free Tarek and Christina seminar on flipping houses. It promptly went into the trash.

Edited October 5, 2019 by chessiegal

[ByaNose]

24 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

I remember years ago getting an invite to a free Tarek and Christina seminar on flipping houses. It promptly went into the trash.

I remember TLC did the same thing years ago with their flipping show. I think all get rich (Suzy Ormandy), flip houses (Tarek & Christina) & investing seminars (Dave Ramsey) are scams. The people who go are regular people who don’t have money to begin with & end up spending /charging $100’s or $1,000’s of dollars they don’t have. The only people getting rich are the guest speakers. They make $$$$$$$. Hopefully, Tarek & Christina are called out on it & pay up.

[mojito]

I miss the days when you had to go out of your way to learn about the lifestyles of celebrities by purchasing a magazine or tabloid. Now you have a show that likes us to see what kind of cars the hosts pull up in and they take time to talk about nasty procedures they engage in to look younger. People are so infatuated with celebrity that they go to great lengths to be near it, and will obviously waste money to be associated with it.

T&C are getting boring. The houses are boring, the gray and white patterned tiles are boring, the gray paint is boring. I'm tired of hearing Christina's declaration of the same old things being "modern". The only thing not boring is that Tarek shows signs of being playful/humorous; that was sorely lacking in the shows while they were married. Still, that's got nothing to do with flipping homes. I'd like to see what this show would be like if these two were suddenly relocated to someplace like Columbia, MO or Columbia, SC. 

[iMonrey]

Izzy was even throwing a little shade in this one. "I don't want to give you a number because then you'll hold me to it." "I've never done that." "Yes you have." 

Quote

T&C are getting boring.

I liked Ken and Anita, the Atlanta flippers, the best. I wish HGTV would bring them back.

[suebee12]

12 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I liked Ken and Anita, the Atlanta flippers, the best. I wish HGTV would bring them back.

Me, too! But I wonder if they were the ones who bowed out? It must take a lot of time to tape the show and maybe it was taking time away from their "real" flips?

[doodlebug]

8 hours ago, suebee12 said:

Me, too! But I wonder if they were the ones who bowed out? It must take a lot of time to tape the show and maybe it was taking time away from their "real" flips?

Considering the amount they make from the TV show, sure money which also ups their profile which provides lucrative opportunities for speaking gigs, appearances at home shows and such as well as the possibility of being able to write a book, do a show of their own or do product endorsements; a TV show appearance is going to be far more lucrative than any flipping business.

Tarek didn't have money for multiple luxury cars and a yacht back when they were strictly flipping houses.

I like Ken and Anita a lot; I think they were too competent and nice for TLC which wants the drama and conflict along with the trainwrecks.

[chessiegal]

53 minutes ago, doodlebug said:

I like Ken and Anita a lot; I think they were too competent and nice for TLC which wants the drama and conflict along with the trainwrecks.

They were not on TLC, they were on HGTV. HGTV is not in the train wreck business like TLC is.