Flip Or Flop Atlanta - General Discussion

[iMonrey]

Quote

The more I see Ken and Anita, the less I like Tarek and Christina. 

Agreed! They just seem so much less pretentious and fake. Especially now that we know Tarek and Christina aren't even together anymore. You kind of get the impression T&C's interactions are completely phony and just for the cameras. 

[psychoticstate]

Wow, Ken and Anita did a fantastic job with the Smyrna house.  They made an excellent profit ($100k) and got something like $40k over ask.   The house came out super cute too - - I really liked the blue shutters and flower boxes and the kitchen looked sweet (especially given that it wasn't very big.)  

I may have to admit that I'm getting soft and squishy on Ken.

[Simon47]

Ken and Anita are a very great couple!

I liked the outside of the house, kitchen, and master. Very sweet for a home. Sweet dreams, homeowners!

[MoreCoffeePlease]

White shaker cabinets, white subway tile.  Whoo hoo! (sarcasm) I guess when you are flipping homes you just have to do what is expected.  I would so LOVE to see a true design show again on HGTV to give us some new ideas.

Wonder how they really fixed the floors since the hardwood in the kitchen looked so different from the other areas.

[iMonrey]

This is the second house they've done where they added a front porch that looked fantastic. That must be their thing. It was really cute! Just that small addition alone turned a plain, square modular looking house into a cute little cottage. I was a bit surprised they didn't open the entire wall between the living room and the dining room/kitchen, but eventually realized it would have eliminated a third of the cabinet and counter space in the kitchen. You just know Tarek and Christina or any other HGTV host would have torn it out anyway but Ken and Anita seem more practical about this type of stuff.

The only thing I didn't like was the "surprise" about the wiring in the attic. Please. They had to have looked up there in the first walk-thru. That's just so basic - you want to go look up in the attic to see what kind of shape the roof is in. 

Quote

I would so LOVE to see a true design show again on HGTV to give us some new ideas.

Well to be fair, "flipping" shows are not design shows. I know what you mean but if you're flipping a house you pretty much have to be neutral in your finishes to appeal to the most buyers. That's just the nature of the beast. A "design" show would have to center around designing the interior of a home specific to an owner's taste rather than about houses people are trying to sell.

[Simon47]

I was also a bit surprised that they didn't open up those walls, but, anyway, the problem with the electrickety was a joke, since they had to fix the problem right away. That was a bit odd.

[juliet73]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

The only thing I didn't like was the "surprise" about the wiring in the attic. Please. They had to have looked up there in the first walk-thru. That's just so basic - you want to go look up in the attic to see what kind of shape the roof is in. 

 

I guess TPTB think the show needs unnecessary drama.  It doesn't and that's why I like it.  I will say though, I'm surprised the house hadn't burned down - that wiring was scary!!

I thought the house was super cute!  I'm glad they left the living room wall and just widened the entry.  I'm so over "open concept" meaning everything is in one big room.  This house was still open, but the rooms were defined.  I loved the porch! And the backyard was fantastic, even though all they really did was clean it up.  

What is with the custom stove hoods?  Is it the new trend?  I can see having one if the kitchen is huge, but in a smaller/average sized kitchen, I don't get it.  What happened to just having a regular hood - that was popular a few years back.  Or a cabinet above the hood?

[chessiegal]

As I watched the Smyrna show, I thought the neighbors must have been relieved to get that eyesore gone! I sure wouldn't have wanted that mess next to my house.

[Simon47]

20 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

As I watched the Smyrna show, I thought the neighbors must have been relieved to get that eyesore gone! I sure wouldn't have wanted that mess next to my house.

ITA! Imagine so much trash from tenants next door! Those idiots that lived in the house before left trash everywhere. It was disgusting. However, not much trash as the rustic one 2 eps ago.

[Sam215]

19 hours ago, juliet73 said:

 

What is with the custom stove hoods?  Is it the new trend?  I can see having one if the kitchen is huge, but in a smaller/average sized kitchen, I don't get it.  What happened to just having a regular hood - that was popular a few years back.  Or a cabinet above the hood?

Going off the hood comment, was there a microwave in the house?   Is no microwave a new trend?  We went to several new build open houses recently and there were no microwaves.   Also no master bathroom tubs.  

Edited August 19, 2017 by Sam215
Spelling

[doodlebug]

3 minutes ago, Sam215 said:

Going off the hood comment, was there a microwave in the house?   Is no microwave a new trend?  We went to several new build open houses scent.y and there were no microwaves.   Also no master bathroom tubs.  

Don't know about the microwave, but no tub and a massive shower big enough for the whole family seems to be the current trend. Personally, I prefer a nice soak in the tub on occasion and have no desire to shower with a cast of thousands.

[TMAC]

Wait....How can they flip 100 houses per year when each one takes about 2 months from start to finish and sits on the market for a month? Also, it says in their Bio that they've sold 600 homes since 2005. That's about 50 homes a year and that's 1 house per week.  The math doesn't add up!

[dleighg]

1 minute ago, TMAC said:

Wait....How can they flip 100 houses per year when each one takes about 2 months from start to finish and sits on the market for a month? Also, it says in their Bio that they've sold 600 homes since 2005. That's about 50 homes a year and that's 1 house per week.  The math doesn't add up!

I wondered that as well. I imagine if that's true they are not as "hands on" as is shown, as they only have 3 days per house (with no days off) to actually do work. They must have a crew that does most of the work.

[doodlebug]

58 minutes ago, TMAC said:

Wait....How can they flip 100 houses per year when each one takes about 2 months from start to finish and sits on the market for a month? Also, it says in their Bio that they've sold 600 homes since 2005. That's about 50 homes a year and that's 1 house per week.  The math doesn't add up!

They are obviously doing more than one flip at a time and, like Tarek and Christina, have a large staff for their business that handles much of the actual work.  I presume the 100 houses a year is their current productivity, while, as they were starting and growing their business; they did far fewer flips in the early years.

[MoreCoffeePlease]

If you don't see a microwave, I would assume there is a microwave drawer unit in the island.  A lot of people don't want to see the microwave, and putting it in the island is "cool".  Personally, I don't know if I could get used to bending down and lifting things up out of the microwave.  I have no problem with it being visible, plus, I use it ALL of the time.

[ByaNose]

They did a nice job and made a good call on the shutters. The shutters would have taken up the whole front of the house. The paint color was nice and not too overpowering. The kitchen was beautiful and I really like the color. I didn't care for the bathroom tile though. I wanted to see the basement all cleaned up. I guess because they didn't finish it out they didn't want to show it. 

[psychoticstate]

I agree about the master bath trend.  I like a nice shower but having one big enough for the entire neighborhood is silly.  Plus, I'd rather pull some real estate from the mega shower and get a garden tub. 

The Decatur house came out nice.  They did a fabulous job.  The exterior looked great; definitely a massive improvement over the standard brick ranch.  The kitchen was gorgeous and while I wouldn't have chosen the master bath tile, it did jazz up a small space.  The master bedroom, while small, turned out nice.  The deck was a great addition. 

I am really loving Ken and Anita.  From what we see, I think their work surpasses Tarek and Christina's. 

[iMonrey]

I agree Ken and Anita do nicer work than Tarek and Christina. It's nice we don't see the same gray and white colors every damn week. It's also nice we don't get the same damn argument every week where the wife wants to spend more money than the husband does.

I wonder though if they replaced the windows on the house in Decatur. They didn't say so, and it looked like they kept the ones that were already there. Those were definitely not energy-efficient. I was also confused about whether they put siding up over the existing brick or if they tore the bricks down first. I would think they'd have to remove the bricks but I didn't see them doing it.

Not a huge profit for this house. I have to wonder how they select which houses to feature on this show if they really do flip upwards of 100 of them a year (which I still find a somewhat suspicious figure). Probably the ones with the most dramatic visual transformations. I imagine a lot of the houses they flip are more simple cosmetic fixes that aren't all that interesting.

[crazy4tv]

I question the water-proofing job they did in the basement in Decatur. That was a very wet wall, and it looked like all they did was paint that waterproofing paint on it. With that much moisture, I'd have thought they would need to do a weeping system outside the house.

[doodlebug]

7 hours ago, crazy4tv said:

I question the water-proofing job they did in the basement in Decatur. That was a very wet wall, and it looked like all they did was paint that waterproofing paint on it. With that much moisture, I'd have thought they would need to do a weeping system outside the house.

It looked inadequate to me, too.  They did say that it was due to a drainage problem on that side and they did something to divert the water, but that was a hella wet wall.  I presume they're legally required to disclose it to any buyers who could then get it properly inspected so they could figure remediation into the sale price.

[dleighg]

19 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I wonder though if they replaced the windows on the house in Decatur. They didn't say so, and it looked like they kept the ones that were already there. Those were definitely not energy-efficient. I was also confused about whether they put siding up over the existing brick or if they tore the bricks down first. I would think they'd have to remove the bricks but I didn't see them doing it.

 

they just put the siding on top of the brick. I was confused about the number of bedrooms. They bought it as a three bedroom, with one of the bedrooms (as I recall) a converted garage-- the room with the sliders to the driveway. What did they do with that room? Did they even show it?

[iMonrey]

No, they did not show the converted garage after the remodel for some reason. That was a pretty big room too - bigger than the other two bedrooms. It was also awkward to have it off the kitchen but obviously there's more value in a three-bedroom than a two-bedroom - or over having a garage, for that matter. 

[doodlebug]

12 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

No, they did not show the converted garage after the remodel for some reason. That was a pretty big room too - bigger than the other two bedrooms. It was also awkward to have it off the kitchen but obviously there's more value in a three-bedroom than a two-bedroom - or over having a garage, for that matter. 

They also planned to remove the sliders and replace with a window(s).  It would've been nice to see how that turned out.

[iMonrey]

You could see the windows from the exterior so they did show that, but I would be interested to know what they did with the interior of that room. That was quite a bit of space they had to work with.

[mojito]

I didn't get the reference to "oversized" subway tile. Oversized compared to what? Surely not subway tile.

@MoreCoffeePlease, I've been really into  flipping shows since the days of Property Ladder, and now, for the first time ever, I'm interested in seeing design. These same-old, same-old renovations are getting boring. Can't HGTV come up with a single show that focuses on new trends in design,  with discussion by designers, like a sort of magazine show, or have I been missing those shows? 

I still like flipping shows, but I like the focus on the work, not the end product after it's been staged. It feels like I see a before picture when the place is dirty and full of trash, a middle with big surprises like the obviously sunken roof needing replacement, and then an after scene when the place is cluttered with furniture, pillows, and tchotchkes. I could do without the staging.

[ByaNose]

Good Flip with a great master bedroom and beautiful sunroom. They bought it for $50,000 and, I think it sold for $155,000. It's amazing how cheap the market is in Atlanta. I like this couple and the husband doesn't act all goofy. It's a nice change of pace. 

[mojito]

I thought it was nice to see a wood floor that wasn't stained dark brown.

I haven't noticed anyone accusing men of this, but I'm gonna say that between Ken and the contractor, there was some serious vocal frying going on.

[chessiegal]

9 hours ago, ByaNose said:

Good Flip with a great master bedroom and beautiful sunroom. They bought it for $50,000 and, I think it sold for $155,000. It's amazing how cheap the market is in Atlanta. I like this couple and the husband doesn't act all goofy. It's a nice change of pace. 

Depends on where you are in Atlanta (location, location, location). They bought a house near Buckhead for over $400K and sold it for almost $800K.

[ByaNose]

40 minutes ago, chessiegal said:

Depends on where you are in Atlanta (location, location, location). They bought a house near Buckhead for over $400K and sold it for almost $800K.

Makes you wonder if these other houses around them still look like $400,000 houses? Usually, that's how you get the comps for your house if you're selling. That said, I'm not a realitor and don't know the ins and outs.

[chessiegal]

They showed pictures of the houses around the $400K house - they were gorgeous, definitely worth being in the $700K range. The house they bought was really neglected and in need of work.

[iMonrey]

I like how realistic they are about their price point. They did carpet and inexpensive tile in the living area and sun room because they knew it was only a $150K house and they wouldn't get a good return on new hardwoods throughout. I was confused about the kitchen though because the wall that separated it from the front room seemed to have a laundry closet or something and they never showed it. I also didn't care for the master bath layout. By enlarging one end to make room for a double vanity, it made the placement of the toilet look odd, right in the middle of the room.

[ByaNose]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

I like how realistic they are about their price point. They did carpet and inexpensive tile in the living area and sun room because they knew it was only a $150K house and they wouldn't get a good return on new hardwoods throughout. I was confused about the kitchen though because the wall that separated it from the front room seemed to have a laundry closet or something and they never showed it. I also didn't care for the master bath layout. By enlarging one end to make room for a double vanity, it made the placement of the toilet look odd, right in the middle of the room.

and, the double sink vanity was pushed far into the corner. It was almost like it had it's own room. It wasn't very conducive.

[Gam2]

Not very conducive to what? 

[katalizt]

23 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I like how realistic they are about their price point. They did carpet and inexpensive tile in the living area and sun room because they knew it was only a $150K house and they wouldn't get a good return on new hardwoods throughout. I was confused about the kitchen though because the wall that separated it from the front room seemed to have a laundry closet or something and they never showed it. I also didn't care for the master bath layout. By enlarging one end to make room for a double vanity, it made the placement of the toilet look odd, right in the middle of the room.

I agree about the price point and I liked how when they went to buy tile they stuck to the closeout section to save money, and were smart about using a more expensive mosaic tile sparingly yet with a good effect. Not like Christina who seems to choose higher end finishes every time they have a low budget.

And I had the same tought about the toilet in the master bath. There must've been a better way to do that. They never showed the closet but from the blueprint it seemed to end up in an awkward shape as well.

Yay they didn't tear down walls! Granted, the house (and the budget) didn't really lend itself to it but I'm sure if this was on another show they would've reworked the entire layout to get an open concept. This one had a nice semi-open concept and what they did to it made sense. Making the kitchen bigger by pushing the row of cabinets a little further into the living room was the only change to the layout in this part of the house. That didn't look to me like it was a full wall to begin with, just a built out box for the fridge with some cabinets. I liked that the living room behind the kitchen was clearly separated, but the large opening still allows for an easy flow between rooms. To me that is an ideal balance between open concept and closed off rooms.

[iMonrey]

The one thing I could do without is the demo footage. For some reason HGTV seems to think demolishing old cabinets and counters is the money shot but let's face it - it's highly unlikely Ken and Anita ever do any demo work themselves. It's not as if these people are in the trenches doing manual labor. They've got teams of contractors doing that stuff. Why pretend Ken and Anita ever do that work? It's dumb and an insult to our intelligence. If they are successful enough to actually flip 100 houses a year they must have this down to a science. I'd rather see how their actual business works. I'm sure their actual involvement in the day to day reno work is minimal (and perhaps in some cases nonexistent) but I'd be interested in getting a true picture of how this actually works. They can just host and explain to process and the decisions. 

[Simon47]

I agree with you, @iMonrey. Why don't we do demo anymore?

I paid attention to the kitchen. It turned out beautiful, and with that extra wall gone, there's even more space. Gorgeous hardwood floors.

I'm not sure if they actually flip 100 houses a year. They take so much time to finish, it's more like 25 houses a year.

[chessiegal]

I get the impression they have enough crew/contractors they're flipping several houses at a time. That would get them to 100 per year.

ETA: Some of their flips may also be mostly cosmetic and not take that much time to do.

Edited September 3, 2017 by chessiegal

[iMonrey]

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I'm not sure if they actually flip 100 houses a year. They take so much time to finish, it's more like 25 houses a year.

I guess it's conceivable they could buy and sell about 100 houses in the space of a calendar year, although that's probably the high end of their average per year. Let's say they own about 10 flips at any given time and they are all in various stages of renovation. If they can turn each of them around in four to six weeks, and keep their inventory up at around a constant 10 (i.e. they buy one house for every one house they sell) then by the end of the year, yeah, maybe they turned over between 80-100 properties. 

A quick glance through their website reveals they've got a lot of other business ventures going on so this is but one of many things they do to generate an income. 

[psychoticstate]

I loved that Scottdale house.  Can I move in, please? 

[doodlebug]

2 hours ago, psychoticstate said:

I loved that Scottdale house.  Can I move in, please? 

I must say, they have repeatedly done an impressive job of improving the look of the houses they flip by changing entrances, renovating porches and the like.  The job they did last night removing the flimsy walls to uncover the original pillars and front porch looked terrific when they were done.

[iMonrey]

My only issue with this house is that after the original garage was converted into a new master bedroom suite, the driveway still ran right up to the house. I keep thinking about people who come home drunk and accidentally drive right into the house. Someone could come plowing into the bedroom one night after they've had a few too many.

Ken and Anita's profit margins don't seem very big. I think the largest they've had so far this season was 99K. The others range somewhere between $20 and $30K. Mind you, $27K is nothing to sneeze at, but I wonder how much of that they actually get to keep and how much goes to taxes, carrying costs, etc. One thing we learned from "Flip or Flop Follow-Up" is that houses which originally showed a small profit were actually flops because all of the profit was swallowed up by carrying costs. For some reason HGTV does not want to portray any of these flips as flops. Probably because their sponsors want to encourage the idea that renovation is always profitable. 

As a grammarian snob, one thing that irks me is in the opening title sequence when Anita says "There's no doubt in my mind that that house won't sell." That's a double negative. She's actually saying she doesn't think the house will sell and I don't think that's what she means. In other words, she's saying "I do not doubt the house will not sell." She should be saying "There's no doubt in my mind that that house will sell." 

Are we getting more of Ken and Anita then we got of Bristol and Aubrey? There's still at least one more new Atlanta episode and it seemed like there weren't as many Vegas episodes. Not that I'm complaining. Ken and Anita are already my favorites.

[psychoticstate]

3 hours ago, doodlebug said:

I must say, they have repeatedly done an impressive job of improving the look of the houses they flip by changing entrances, renovating porches and the like.  The job they did last night removing the flimsy walls to uncover the original pillars and front porch looked terrific when they were done.

I agree.  I appreciate that they remodel/reno based on the style of the house, the neighborhood and pricing.  It's not all grey and white (yes, I'm looking at you, Tarek and Christina.) 

I thought the kitchen came out well and I loved the little "hallway" to the master bedroom.  The master bath also came out well.  I liked they added the "tower" in the middle of the vanities for more storage. 

3 hours ago, iMonrey said:

My only issue with this house is that after the original garage was converted into a new master bedroom suite, the driveway still ran right up to the house. I keep thinking about people who come home drunk and accidentally drive right into the house. Someone could come plowing into the bedroom one night after they've had a few too many.

Ken and Anita's profit margins don't seem very big. I think the largest they've had so far this season was 99K. The others range somewhere between $20 and $30K. Mind you, $27K is nothing to sneeze at, but I wonder how much of that they actually get to keep and how much goes to taxes, carrying costs, etc. One thing we learned from "Flip or Flop Follow-Up" is that houses which originally showed a small profit were actually flops because all of the profit was swallowed up by carrying costs. For some reason HGTV does not want to portray any of these flips as flops. Probably because their sponsors want to encourage the idea that renovation is always profitable. 

As a grammarian snob, one thing that irks me is in the opening title sequence when Anita says "There's no doubt in my mind that that house won't sell." That's a double negative. She's actually saying she doesn't think the house will sell and I don't think that's what she means. In other words, she's saying "I do not doubt the house will not sell." She should be saying "There's no doubt in my mind that that house will sell." 

Are we getting more of Ken and Anita then we got of Bristol and Aubrey? There's still at least one more new Atlanta episode and it seemed like there weren't as many Vegas episodes. Not that I'm complaining. Ken and Anita are already my favorites.

Ha ha!  I guess it's really not funny but your scenario did make me chuckle. 

I'm from Atlanta and I wonder about these houses with converted garages.  Maybe not a huge issue in SoCal but it does get cold in Atlanta; it does rain and it can sleet/ice/snow.  I wouldn't want to park my car outside indefinitely.  I hope the house had a basement or attic for additional storage. 

This profit margin was relatively slim but I wonder if the $100k profit margins we were seeing on the other version were 100% accurate.  I remember years ago that snake Armando Montelongo (or whatever his name was) getting busted for lying about his properties selling and for how much.  

I suppose a $20k or $30k profit isn't bad if you've gotten the house done in 6 weeks, it sells quickly and it's one of several (or many) projects you're working on.  Not sure if the carrying costs and staging are already figured into that or not.  I know Tarek and Christina would mention those costs at the end. 

[dleighg]

10 hours ago, psychoticstate said:

I'm from Atlanta and I wonder about these houses with converted garages.  Maybe not a huge issue in SoCal but it does get cold in Atlanta; it does rain and it can sleet/ice/snow.  I wouldn't want to park my car outside indefinitely.  I hope the house had a basement or attic for additional storage. 

 

LOL. My husband and I are life-long northeasterners, currently living in southern NY. We've never used our garage for storing cars :). 

[doodlebug]

3 hours ago, dleighg said:

LOL. My husband and I are life-long northeasterners, currently living in southern NY. We've never used our garage for storing cars :). 

I live in the snowy Midwest and I've parked my car in the garage maybe a dozen times in the past decade.  There's plenty of room for it, I just don't bother.

[Simon47]

I loved this kitchen. I also liked the finished master bathroom. I thought Ken and Anita did an awesome job on this house. Front porch, kitchen, everything.

[iMonrey]

Their kid's name is "Rocko?" I hope that's a nickname. And I want to know where they come up with some of their estimates. No way in hell you can do a complete tear-down and remodel of a full hall bath for 2 grand. I had my very small master bath remodeled and it was 6 grand and that was only a partial remodel (kept the same vanity, sink, toilet, and painted myself). I hear these lowball figures every week on every show (the original series too) and I wonder what the hell they mean. Just labor? Just materials? Can't be both. And if they mean just labor, where does the cost of materials come in? Do they get those for free? Or is the labor free? Maybe they have their own construction crew on salary so they don't have to include labor costs because their workmen are on salary. Still, at the end of the day, those salaries come out of their profits.

[chessiegal]

I know professional contractors get cheaper prices at places like Home Depot, while you, the contractor's customer, pay the retail price. But I agree the prices seem low. Maybe they get a volume discount since they do so many flips.

[doodlebug]

22 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Their kid's name is "Rocko?" I hope that's a nickname. And I want to know where they come up with some of their estimates. No way in hell you can do a complete tear-down and remodel of a full hall bath for 2 grand. I had my very small master bath remodeled and it was 6 grand and that was only a partial remodel (kept the same vanity, sink, toilet, and painted myself). I hear these lowball figures every week on every show (the original series too) and I wonder what the hell they mean. Just labor? Just materials? Can't be both. And if they mean just labor, where does the cost of materials come in? Do they get those for free? Or is the labor free? Maybe they have their own construction crew on salary so they don't have to include labor costs because their workmen are on salary. Still, at the end of the day, those salaries come out of their profits.

I think their son's name is Rocco, a fairly popular name amongst Italian American parents these days (Madonna has one, too).

I agree, their costs are ridiculously low, but, at least in part because they're doing the work themselves utilizing their company, so there isn't a profit figured in at that point. Add in whatever their profit margin is on the property and you'd get a better feel for what a real person would pay for the same work.  I think they also buy a lot of things like floor coverings and cabinetry in bulk and just store it someplace to use in multiple flips and, therefore, get a wholesale price rather than retail.  That should cut that cost by at least a third, maybe half.  Then, if they go in and buy stuff that is already on closeout, that's another huge chunk.  In other words, their costs are so much less than what we would pay as consumers that it really isn't comparable.

[iMonrey]

Two things about that house in east Atlanta: one of the bedrooms had wood paneling and Anita said "we can just paint over this" and that's exactly what they did. Anyone else would have taken it down. And you know what? It looked fine. Also, they took down the wall between the dining area and the kitchen but they left the horizontal beam across the ceiling where the wall used to be (not sure what that's called but it has something to do with it being load bearing). Again, that's something the contractor and/or home owner would have demanded come down on any other show because it "ruins the flow" (this is especially true on Property Brothers I've noticed). Which would incur thousands in extra costs to fix. And you know what? It looked fine too.

Ken and Anita are regularly disproving HGTV dictums right and left.

[doodlebug]

5 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Two things about that house in east Atlanta: one of the bedrooms had wood paneling and Anita said "we can just paint over this" and that's exactly what they did. Anyone else would have taken it down. And you know what? It looked fine. Also, they took down the wall between the dining area and the kitchen but they left the horizontal beam across the ceiling where the wall used to be (not sure what that's called but it has something to do with it being load bearing). Again, that's something the contractor and/or home owner would have demanded come down on any other show because it "ruins the flow" (this is especially true on Property Brothers I've noticed). Which would incur thousands in extra costs to fix. And you know what? It looked fine too.

Ken and Anita are regularly disproving HGTV dictums right and left.

I think painting paneling depends a lot on the quality of the original stuff.  If it's the cheap plywood kind, it's going to look bad with or without paint.  However, good quality wood paneling can be painted and look beautiful.  I have a small sunroom on the back of my home which was part of an addition done in the 60's.  Whoever did it used real wood, good quality product.  Each board is about half an inch thick. When I moved in 26 years ago, I painted the previously dark brown paneling white, mainly because the room was small and looked dark despite windows on 3 sides.  It looks great and the paint job has held up just as well as if it was drywall.

I also agree that a lot of the angst over ceiling beams for support or even pillars on these shows is just so over the top.  With the right design and execution, it is possible for them to be unique elements that improve the design.  And save thousands of dollars, to boot.