Flip Or Flop Atlanta - General Discussion

[lynxfx]

They seem to get some crazy profits off of these places. Guessing it is because they manage to get them at rock bottom prices, so not the norm for flipping these days. Both came out pretty nice though. Not sure why they kept the first one after getting a near full price offer and potential $100k+ profit. Maybe a rental property or AirBB place?

I like barn doors for the master bath (putting one up myself) but only if the toilet is in its own little room with a real door. That is when it makes the most sense. You can slide it closed to block light or some privacy but for the most part it will remain open and is a decorative focal point.

I do like this pair but I think I like the Desert Flippers best and I get a kick out of Vegas Flippers. Anita does sound a lot like Joanna Gaines. My wife thought I had Fixer Upper on when she heard it from the other room. 

[dleighg]

do those barn doors make a lot of noise when they close? My husband and I are a night owl/early bird pair and a quiet door to the bathroom is *really* important. I feel guilty just playing the little radio in the shower at 5 am LOL.

Edited October 12, 2018 by dleighg

[juliet73]

11 hours ago, ByaNose said:

The second episode was a twin unit which they made in to one big house. That said, it didn't look that big after removing all the walls. Yup! Open concept yet again.

They only took down a couple of walls.  I think it appeared bigger before because it looked like a side by side duplex when it actually was an up/down duplex.  The front door on the right was literally there just to go up the stairs to the second level unit. 

 

7 hours ago, iMonrey said:

And Ken and Anita are back! Wow, the two houses they did in these episodes surpass anything Tarek and Christina have done, in terms of remodeling, IMO. And notice the lack of fake drama, i.e. "oh, we didn't know we were going to have to put on a new roof/install new wiring/new plumbing . . . oh noes!" Thank goodness for a more genuine approach. I really missed these guys, and they are definitely my favorite team out of all the Flip or Flop iterations.

They are my favorite too!  I also like them because they don't do the fake drama.  IMO, they are the most professional too - flipping and listing.  It looks like they actually film the open house too because Ken and Anita usually tour the rooms with the potential buyers, hand out the listing flyers, set out snacks, dress appropriately (looking at you mostly FoF Vegas), etc.  

I read this on their blog in regards to their son Rocco who beat cancer:  "This season in every reveal at the end of the show I staged with a pair of angel wings to honor all children and families who are connected to childhood cancer. I use wings as a symbol of hope and encouragement to all in the community to remind you that you are not alone. Something special for all the warriors out there."

Edited October 13, 2018 by juliet73

[suebee12]

8 hours ago, lynxfx said:

Not sure why they kept the first one after getting a near full price offer and potential $100k+ profit. Maybe a rental property or AirBB place?

As soon as they started the open house, I wondered if they kept the house for themselves...why? Because the welcome mat had a "C" on it! If you were showing a house to sell, would you do that? Of all the flippers, Ken and Anita are my favorites. They don't creative a lot of angst, they just do the work. I really liked the backyard in the first house...the stonework was great!! The only thing I didn't like was the brick for the foundation....it looked like fake brick...too red. I would like it if it was a more "natural" colored brick.

Glad this show is back...wish they had more episodes.

[ByaNose]

I totally agree about Ken & Anita. They are a married couple with a flipping show without the drama. What a novel concept. Their design ascetic is more Chip & Joanna than Tarek & Christina. The first episode they did a great job with the house they supposedly bought. You could tell they were in love with it when it was a dump. Also, I want to swim in their pool at their real home. It looked like so much fun. 

[lynxfx]

22 hours ago, dleighg said:

do those barn doors make a lot of noise when they close? 

They make no noise if you use quality hardware and proper soft stops. They shouldn't sound like your typical sliding closet door. 

[MakingBacon]

I get that all these shows are fake but I love that this show really is about the houses. I love the fact that Anita is always appropriately dressed for the job and not wearing four inch heels while carrying her Prada bag in a house that looks like it is going to cave in at any moment. Plus, I like the fact these two actually sound knowledgeable, focus on the work and aren’t constantly sniping at each other. I also like that Anita talks about the actual construction of the property and isn’t expected to only speak about the color scheme/decorating. 

As someone from California, I am so amazed to see how you can’t get cute houses, on a large lot for what would be the equivalent of a nice downpayment on a home here.

[iMonrey]

Not sure I agree about Anita being "appropriately dressed." She has a weird fashion style. A lot of boots and pants with long, flowing gypsy-style tops. That said, she's nowhere near as caked up as Christina (or Aubrey of Vegas). And I'm sure she's being prompted to dress up a bit for the cameras. 

But Ken and Anita seem to accomplish so much more with their remodels than Tarek and Christina. With the latter you get the same old thing every week: tear down the walls to make it open concept, then splash on the usual grey and white colors. Throw in the usual bickering over finishes and costs and it's the same episode week after week. Ken and Anita have much more amazing transformations, whether they're turning duplexes into single family homes, or turning split levels into traditional colonials. I'm always impressed and no two look alike.  And . . . gasp! No bickering!

Edited October 16, 2018 by iMonrey

[suebee12]

Just finished the two new Flip or Flop Atlanta shows...boy, didn't we get the big and little tonight? That first house was amazing even before they redid it but WOW after they finished! That did look like a mansion, something you might buy if you won the lottery but realistically it was a bargain for that amount of square footage. The second house was a cutie, but sure had some huge under-lying problems! Can you imagine if the roof had collapsed on Tarek and Christina? One thing that was strange tho' was why they just started shingling without checking the structure since they had already run in to other problems or why didn't they see the bad trusses when they redid the two outer walls? One thing I really didn't like was the backsplash...this is the second time I have seen the "patchwork quilt" tiles(was it Anita both times?) and I didn't like it either time. It looked as though they found a box of leftover tiles from several different jobs and used them. (Kind of reminded me of that ugly green tile used in one of the House Hunters Renos. All in all, I still find this the best Flip or Flop...great flips and no arguments or whining!

[iMonrey]

I did not care for the "patchwork" backsplash either, nor did I care for the tiles blending into the hardwood flooring. Granted, it's nice that she tries to do interesting things instead of doing the same gray and white decor every time (cough*christina*cough), but some of the designs would have limited appeal. I also didn't care for the wall treatments she did in the big mansion.

Yeah, what was the deal with that huge manor? I don't get why it was being offered for only $220K. There were no major structural issues that we knew of and the reno was pretty basic. I didn't think the shower in the master bath was all that big despite the overall size of the house. The kitchen was kind of small too even with the wall removed.

Why would it take six months to remove a tree? I noticed that tiny house was really crammed in between the houses on either side, too - you could probably reach through the window into the next door neighbor's house. Can't imagine what real estate is like in that area if people are snapping up houses like that for $280K.

When they showed Ken and Anita on their farm it looked liked the pigs and the goats were all running around loose in the same area. I'd have thought the pigs would have to be separated from the other animals.

[suebee12]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

When they showed Ken and Anita on their farm it looked liked the pigs and the goats were all running around loose in the same area. I'd have thought the pigs would have to be separated from the other animals.

They might have started out that way but it is hard to contain goats! They go where they want to.

I forgot to mention the hexagon floor...that is strange looking but I  have seen it on one of these shows before...didn't like it then either...was it Joanna that did it. Can't remember because these shows start to blend in together!!

[iMonrey]

But won't the pigs harm the goats and other animals? Granted I know next to nothing about it but I always thought pigs were pretty dangerous. This is based mostly on my knowledge of Deadwood, admittedly. 

[suebee12]

No, pigs aren't really mean...at least the ones we had when I was a kid. We raised several of the "runts" of the litter because the mother's (sows) would not take care of them(nature's way) and we would. They were so cute! and tiny! and then they grew!! I remember Hamlet and Petunia(yes, we named them) but I know there were others. Pigs are really intelligent:

Pigs are wise ... and clean

Here's the dirt on pigs: They are perhaps the smartest, cleanest domestic animals known - more so than cats and dogs, according to some experts. But pigs don't have sweat glands, so they roll around in the mud to stay cool. A sign of their cleverness came from experiments in the 1990s. Pigs were trained to move a cursor on a video screen with their snouts and used the cursor to distinguish between scribbles they knew and those they were seeing for the first time. They learned the task as quickly as chimpanzees.

[Kenzie]

I kept waiting for them to explain why such a beautiful house on lots of land was selling for $225,000. 

Did I miss something?

[MakingBacon]

I actually liked the mansion before they did the remodel. To me all it needed was to be painted and the awful wallpaper taken down.  It ended up looking a little too modern inside for my taste. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

In the past couple on months I've noticed they do the hexagon floor tiles blending into the hardwoods on House Hunters Renovation, Holmes & Holmes, some of the other flip shows too.    It's apparently a new trend, and I don't like it at all.     I think it's another trend, and will be outdated in a few years.   

[dleighg]

I didn't see the show, but did the blending look like this? https://www.countryliving.com/home-design/a40590/tile-and-wood-transition-floor/

If so, I agree. Ick.

[doodlebug]

5 hours ago, dleighg said:

I didn't see the show, but did the blending look like this? https://www.countryliving.com/home-design/a40590/tile-and-wood-transition-floor/

If so, I agree. Ick.

Yep, that's it.  Something that obvious and trendy, like a patchwork backsplash is not going to age well.  I can see homeowners tiring of it after only a couple of years.

 

18 hours ago, MakingBacon said:

I actually liked the mansion before they did the remodel. To me all it needed was to be painted and the awful wallpaper taken down.  It ended up looking a little too modern inside for my taste. 

I didn't love the staging on the mansion. It seemed a bit too urban-industrial-modern for the space.  I think more traditional, maybe a bit more upscale,  furnishings would've suited the style of the house and the country location  better.

[lynxfx]

Didn't really like the mansion episode. For such a big house it was a bigger let down. Still feel like something is fishy about that original 220k price.

The blending tile has been done a lot lately and it still looks bad. You see people post it on pinterest and reddit frequently. I feel like something that bold should be done as a feature wall. Something that could easily be changed in a few years after it gets old, or becomes dated. Ripping up floors is a lot more expensive and harder than pulling down something off the wall.

It was interesting seeing their warehouse that they use to hold all of their staging items. I wonder how much is invested in that? Most of the other flippers use staging companies and bring in stuff that accentuates the design or matches colors. Probably harder to do with a set amount of items you already own, which seemed to be a problem with the mansion house. Also that is a lot of square footage to stage. 

[lynxfx]

On 10/19/2018 at 9:44 AM, iMonrey said:

Why would it take six months to remove a tree? I noticed that tiny house was really crammed in between the houses on either side, too - you could probably reach through the window into the next door neighbor's house.

I'm guessing due to the size and location, that there are permits and paperwork that need to happen to get that removed. You have neighbors on all sides that need approval and protection. It also probably couldn't be fell, so it would need to be taken down in sections. Probably not 6 months to get it all done but surely long enough to hold up the flip.

It did look ridiculously large in that tiny yard. Maybe the new owners can build a tree house off of it. :)

[ByaNose]

23 hours ago, Kenzie said:

I kept waiting for them to explain why such a beautiful house on lots of land was selling for $225,000. 

Did I miss something?

Just watched. That was weird. Why/How was a mansion only $225,000? It’s almost like it was a foreclosure but not. Was it on swamp land? It doesn’t make sense.

[ByaNose]

The tiny house was nice but super small. I’m not exactly sure why she needed to get a builder for the kitchen table. You can go to Target and buy Fisher-Price table really cheap. LOL!!!, that was the smallest kitchen/Dinning Table I’ve ever seen. I didn’t like the octagon tile merging into the hard ward floor. The stove backsplash was UGLY. The backyard was okay but I might have enlarged the deck a few more feet since you couldn’t build the addition. That said, they made a profit of $119,000. Not too shabby.    

[CrazyInAlabama]

I've been to Atlanta, and some of the more expensive areas, around the Governor's mansion in particular, have rather small lots, and big houses, and are very pricey.    There are also some very bad areas in Atlanta, and it could have been that the location was high crime or something, or in the airport traffic patterns.    Also, if I find something this cheap, I look at the overhead map, and see what's in the immediate area that isn't something I want to live near.     And there are tax repo. properties, or ones that are paid off that will have a lien for some reason, so the price on those is rather odd.

If I was able to buy a house like the one they showed with the hexagon tile/hardwood interwoven, I would walk on by to a house that didn't have that.   I want a house with classic features, and one I won't look at in a couple of years and want to rip out features.    

Edited October 21, 2018 by CrazyInAlabama

[iMonrey]

Quote

I kept waiting for them to explain why such a beautiful house on lots of land was selling for $225,000. 

Did I miss something?

Nope, the never really explained it. My best guess is that it's just a combination of the area and the fact that it needed a lot of updating. I mean, they sold it for upwards of $550K so it must have really been considered outdated.

Quote

The blending tile has been done a lot lately and it still looks bad. You see people post it on pinterest and reddit frequently.

I wonder how these trends get started. Someone thinks it up and it gets featured in some design magazine, then suddenly all the designers are copying it? Or is it more insidious? Are there people working behind the scenes for Home Depot and Lowes who think this shit up to sell more tile then force all the HGTV shows to use them?

[CrazyInAlabama]

When I was looking at bath and kitchen back splash tiles, I crossed off anything featured on any Flip or Flop, HH Renovation, or any other flip show.    I didn't want to spend a lot of money on tile and installation, and then dislike it as outdated, so I picked classic tile that I want to live with forever.   Probably any flipper would look at my tile in a few years, and exclaim 'outdated' and 'gut job', but I think most house hunters would like it.     I would never do something as trendy as the hexagon tile interwoven with hardwoods, it's just trendy, and I hate it.  

My tile store also only carries a few of the cement style tiles, and not the original ones that have to be sealed before grouting, because the pattern can be damaged easily, they only have ceramic tiles that look like that, but are matte glazed so they can be treated like regular tiles, and last a lot longer.

If you look in the dictionary, under "not trendy" you'll see my picture next to the definition, and I'm fine with that.  

If I ever was in the price bracket to look at the F or F ATL houses, and walked in to see the tile/hardwood interweave, I would walk right out the door.   However, if I hit the lotto, I would get Ken and Anita (did I get that right?) to redo a house for me, with a lot more control for me to pick the colors, and finishes, because they seem to do a great job.    I know flippers try to be on the cutting edge of trends, but I wonder how many buyers look at the house in a few years and regret some of the choices they made. 

Edited October 27, 2018 by CrazyInAlabama

[lynxfx]

Speaking of that blended tile trend, I went through a model home this weekend and low and behold....

[chessiegal]

7 minutes ago, lynxfx said:

Speaking of that blended tile trend, I went through a model home this weekend and low and behold....

I just showed this to my husband and his one word response was "No". Hideous.

[lynxfx]

3 hours ago, chessiegal said:

I just showed this to my husband and his one word response was "No". Hideous.

This one was pretty bad and apparently not thought out. The island was already positioned so you end up with some awkward looking corners like under the chair. 

My favorite hobby is walking through models and seeing what they come up for feature walls. You can find some really hideous stuff and once in awhile a cool idea.

[dleighg]

I agree it's ugly, but wonder what one would do otherwise in this particular place, unless you're putting wood everywhere, which is in fact what we have in our house. (And we've had it for 10 years, much used, and no issues with water. You just wipe up big spills. Small ones aren't particularly a problem. I have a rug in front of the sink.)

The orientation of the island WRT the refrigerator makes any "normal" straight transition difficult.

[iMonrey]

I've commented on Anita's unique fashion style before, but I have to say: never in a million years would you ever catch Christina in jeans and a flannel shirt, kneeling on the floor and spackling tile. I don't know that I even believe Anita does this sort of thing on the regular but Christina wouldn't even do it for the cameras. 

They made tidy profits on both these houses and both looked like total tear-downs to begin with. Weird that they didn't seem to be there for the Open House in the second one.

[reallymadcow]

One reason the $220K house was so cheap was that it was in Conyers. That’s not even metro Atlanta anymore. That’s waaaay out.

[Ninamags]

I thought that mansion was beautiful before the outside paint job. The shutters really got lost with the new paint. 

It was a huge house. 

I haven't seen the second ep yet. 

[Giuseppe]

I loved the East Lake house from last night's episode. The addition made a huge difference in making that tiny house feel livable. I'm glad they ended up taking out the koi pond in the front yard. Just didn't seem like a good idea to begin with. I would totally live in that house.

I really love the variety of houses we see on this iteration. Watching re-runs of Tarek and Christina, and it's L-shaped ranch after L-shaped ranch.

[CrazyInAlabama]

Conyers!    That's such a long commute if you're going to metro Atlanta.   That certainly explains the price with the size of the house, and the land with it.  

[chessiegal]

I used to work inside the perimeter just off I-85. I had a co-worker who lived in Conyers and he had a crazy commute.

[mojito]

Next door to the East Lake house was an apartment building. You could see it when people were outside admiring the back yard. Could be another reason why the place didn't cost that much. 

[mojito]

Former Rooming/Boarding House or whatever it was

It was confusing at first, what they called the basement. To me it looked like it was the first floor of the home, and didn't seem at all subterranean. It seemed that it was set up to monitor who came into the home to visit the tenants. 

Nice remodel, but enough with the gray. 

[iMonrey]

I agree the boarding house layout was confusing even after the remodel. You have to walk up a flight of steps to get to the front door so the second level is actually the main level. Weird. I would have made the ground level the main floor then put the bedrooms upstairs like a traditional colonial.

[mojito]

Alpharetta Home

The place looked better from the outside before they grayed it.

I wonder why they bother with the pretense that this couple is cleaning out the house themselves and then show them all wide-eyed with wonder as they view the house completely cleaned out. 

Pretty boring. More gray.

[MsTree]

mojito, whether some of us like it or not, gray is "in".  It's what most buyers are looking for, so we can't fault them for going with the trend because they're in business to SELL. And if gray is selling, that's what they're going to do.  Gray is neutral and what beige used to be.

[mojito]

According to some designers, color is back. The Alpharetta home was so drab, it almost looked as though my TV lost its color. Gray's a good color. But I don't think a house looks good when it looks as though it's in fog all the time.

[CrazyInAlabama]

The house that was so full of junk they couldn't even open the door made me very glad we don't have a smell capability for television yet.      

[Kenzie]

7 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

The house that was so full of junk they couldn't even open the door made me very glad we don't have a smell capability for television yet.      

It was odd they way they pretended they had to clean the house out before they would make a bid on the home. And would any buyer miss a gaping hole in the roof?

[iMonrey]

Ken and Anita could pare their business down to just building front porches (although, admittedly, they wouldn't make nearly as much money). Honestly, that seems to be their specialty. One house after another is transformed by the addition of these porches they almost always build. This last one really improved the curb appeal of that little house, with the flower bed wrapping around it. I did something similar with a flower bed box around my own front porch although it was ground-level rather than raised up to deck-level. 

Lo and behold, Anita is just as sick of gray and white as we are! I honestly don't know why everyone wants white cabinets these day. Especially if you have kids!

Edited November 9, 2018 by iMonrey

[Kenzie]

41 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Ken and Anita could pare their business down to just building front porches (although, admittedly, they wouldn't make nearly as much money). Honestly, that seems to be their specialty. One house after another is transformed by the addition of these porches they almost always build. This last one really improved the curb appeal of that little house, with the flower bed wrapping around it. I did something similar with a flower bed box around my own front porch although it was ground-level rather than raised up to deck-level. 

Lo and behold, Anita is just as sick of gray and white as we are! I honestly don't know why everyone wants white cabinets these day. Especially if you have kids!

I liked all the improvements they made on this house but one. I don't know why they cheaped out on the front walk connecting the new drive to the new entry deck with a few small and widely spaced stepping stones. Not only is that a trip hazard but I noticed the open house viewers gave up and just walked on the dirt.

[suebee12]

9 hours ago, Kenzie said:

I liked all the improvements they made on this house but one. I don't know why they cheaped out on the front walk connecting the new drive to the new entry deck with a few small and widely spaced stepping stones. Not only is that a trip hazard but I noticed the open house viewers gave up and just walked on the dirt.

I noticed this also, and wondered! I like a solid sidewalk...OK, OK, I am old and don't trust my knees anymore but I have always disliked stepping stones! I usually like what Erin does on Home Town also but one of the shows, they jack-hammered the sidewalk, and then put all the pieces of said sidewalk down for stepping stones...why???? was all I could think. What is wrong with a level, smooth sidewalk?

[doodlebug]

11 hours ago, suebee12 said:

I noticed this also, and wondered! I like a solid sidewalk...OK, OK, I am old and don't trust my knees anymore but I have always disliked stepping stones! I usually like what Erin does on Home Town also but one of the shows, they jack-hammered the sidewalk, and then put all the pieces of said sidewalk down for stepping stones...why???? was all I could think. What is wrong with a level, smooth sidewalk?

Stepping stones are definitely treacherous, they are also very prone to shifting and sinking over time.  So, even if they're cheaper than a regular sidewalk, they require a lot more maintenance and will probably need replacement within a few years.  There are lots of sidewalk finishes out there if you like the look of stones without the problems.  Years ago, when I was young and foolish, I let a landscaper talk me into doing a stepping stone path thingy in my yard.  Within months, it was uneven, shifting, eventually essentially sank back into the lawn.  Now I am old and foolish, but I know enough not to like stepping stones as a walkway.

[lynxfx]

2 hours ago, doodlebug said:

Stepping stones are definitely treacherous, they are also very prone to shifting and sinking over time.

That is probably because people install them incorrectly. They require the same solid foundation that any brick pathway would have. Put that in, then fill in with decorative filler gravel/grass/mulch and then the paving stones and nothing will shift or sink. Most people apparently think that you can just drop a stone anywhere and move on.

The path built on the last show was comically bad though. Maybe Flip or Flop should start doing the snarky popups like First Time Flippers whenever they make an odd design decision or don't see a mistake.

[mojito]

Well, it was nice to see non-white cabinets. 

I was okay with the stepping stones, but there should have been more of them. As they were installed, you'd have to walk single file to get to the porch.

Yep, they really specialize in wood accents to the front of homes. It did give the house a nice look.

Did anyone watch "Rustic Rehab"? When I heard about the wildfire in CA that killed 23 people (so far), I recalled that this couple worked out of Paradise, CA. Incredibly sad. 

Edited November 12, 2018 by mojito

[CruiseDiva]

On 11/10/2018 at 12:08 PM, doodlebug said:

Years ago, when I was young and foolish, I let a landscaper talk me into doing a stepping stone path thingy in my yard.  Within months, it was uneven, shifting, eventually essentially sank back into the lawn.  Now I am old and foolish, but I know enough not to like stepping stones as a walkway.

We did the same and the square stepping stones always got covered by debris and pine needles--pine trees here shed needles all year. We had them taken up and put in a flagstone walkway that's cemented in place. Much safer, less slippery, and looks better. 

14 hours ago, mojito said:

Did anyone watch "Rustic Rehab"? When I heard about the wildfire in CA that killed 23 people (so far), I recalled that this couple worked out of Paradise, CA. Incredibly sad. 

I've been watching Rustic Rehab and my heart is breaking for them and the residents of Paradise. Seeing pictures of the aftermath is so sad.