Anyone else like the show Flip That House?

[V00DOO]

Thanks to shows like these where the average Joe turns into Donal Trump trying to make a quick buck on Real Estate. Now we are in a housing MESS.

..Three years ago, this Las Vegas suburb was teeming with modern-day prospectors armed with low-interest mortgages, all hoping to strike it rich in real estate. Now, what started with the subprime-mortgage mess and subsequent credit crunch are turning communities like Black Mountain Vista into luxury ghost towns. Buyers who got in over their heads are being forced to abandon their homes, leaving behind empty McMansions on the California coast and see-through condominium towers on Miami Beach. Real estate is turning into a money pit, sapping the fortunes of home buyers, hedge-fund managers and house painters alike. The really bad news? This is only the beginning...

 

[eakers]

I love Flip this House when Armando is on! I am also into Real Estate Pros with Richard and Ginger...

 

[miri]

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[KK]

Originally posted by: mugs
The Atlanta group was a bit more likable, but neither could compare to the Trademark group.

The atlanta group that had the black folks are under investigation. Something about scamming people out of investment money.

 

[NoShangriLa]

My GF watch love it, and I think that show is just an advertisement venue. I have seen the fix them up type of show and that include Holmes on Home, and they are all out to lunch on the price of materials, and labor cost/time.

It took me 6 months to find a good deal on my current house after viewing over 100 houses. I also, renovated my mom houses and the gain is minimal after I factor in the cost of labor.

It is not that easy to make money in real estate as portray on the TV shows.

Separate fact from fiction in do-it-yourself projects -- Mike Holmes

I'm in the construction business, but I also know a bit about the television business, and I can tell you: DIY television is for entertainment, not instruction.

And believe me, on every one of those projects, I had to tear up something and redo it because it was done wrong.

One of the reasons you do projects yourself is to save money, but DIY shows don't discuss cost.

 

[jandrews]

I enjoy property ladder more since it is more realistic. Although if there is very little drama on an episode they try to make a little problem seem more like a big deal to get the drama quota for the month.

 

[FoBoT]

I can't watch that


with the housing market crashing, won't these shows die out?

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: FoBoT
I can't watch that


with the housing market crashing, won't these shows die out?

its great. now they are showing people loseing a lot of money.

yes i get enjoyment out of it. fucking flippers ran up the price (well one of the reasons)

now they want to get bialed out? fuck em

 

[Squisher]

I will never do another major home improvement project unless I'm adding square feet or bathrooms.

I could see someone else doing it on the rare occasions where you've bought a house in a great state of disrepair when compared to the other houses surrounding. The old saw, "the worst house in the best neighborhood."

But, if you're buying a $150K house and putting on granite counter tops, doing a ceramic tile bath, and expecting to get $200K when all the houses in the neighborhood are going for $150K then you're flipping out of your mind.

 

[Aharami]

Originally posted by: waggy

Originally posted by: FoBoT
I can't watch that


with the housing market crashing, won't these shows die out?

its great. now they are showing people loseing a lot of money.

yes i get enjoyment out of it. fucking flippers ran up the price (well one of the reasons)

now they want to get bialed out? fuck em

my thoughts exactly.

 

[dullard]

Originally posted by: Squisher
But, if you're buying a $150K house and putting on granite counter tops, doing a ceramic tile bath, and expecting to get $200K when all the houses in the neighborhood are going for $150K then you're flipping out of your mind.

Exactly. Hopefully, this will be the end of many completely stupid fads: open floor plans, $50k-$100k kitchen remodels, stainless steel everything, massive garages with small attached house, etc.

I bought my house because I wanted to live it in. I didn't like a few things, so I ripped them out. $300 later, I have a fabulous new kitchen countertop. Will I get that $300 back when I sell? Who knows. But I certainly didn't blow $50k on the kitchen hoping to make a buck.

 

[richardycc]

I saw the one with the 2 asian guys, one of the believed the number 2 and 8 bring him luck, it was funny as hell...I didn't see the ending thou. my guess is they are no long friends and lost money on that deal?

 

[waggy]

oh and it amazes me how fucking bad a job they do on redoing the house! i swear there are times i wonder if they are going to get sued for such a crappy job.

they are ripping out wals not really paying attenton if they should or not. One show they ripped out the wall. Then the ceiling starts to sag there. so they ripped that out and put in some studs to make it stay. the guy admited it wouldnt hold for long. long as it held long enough to sale he did not care.

 

[meltdown75]

I work with properties and values all day so I can't be bothered to watch a show about buying and fixing up properties on my own time, but my wife really likes it.

 

[Jugernot]

Apparently I haven't watched in a while because I just saw an episode on this weekend (Saturday?) where Armondo said he was no longer in business with his brother because of a difference of opinion? They apparently also changed their name to The Montelongo Companies..... So now the show is just Armondo, his wife, and the intern idiot?

IMO, I wouldn't buy any of their houses, they cut a lot of corners.

Anyone?

 

[richardycc]

Originally posted by: Jugernot
Apparently I haven't watched in a while because I just saw an episode on this weekend (Saturday?) where Armondo said he was no longer in business with his brother because of a difference of opinion? They apparently also changed their name to The Montelongo Companies..... So now the show is just Armondo, his wife, and the intern idiot?

IMO, I wouldn't buy any of their houses, they cut a lot of corners.

Anyone?

he was just lucky the market was good, so he made money even if he screwed up. I predict that he won't be in business anymore, especially with the stupid intern. I like the other show, the one with Richard, Ginger, Trademark company...they are really pro and can flip a house under a week. Armondo usually take weeks to flip one, oh supposingly he has a book out on how to flip houses too.

 

[Genx87]

I have debated getting into this business. However if I did, it would be to buy apt buildings. Gut the things and sell condos with a revolving association fee.

If I were to upgrade my house. It would only be for my enjoyment, not to make a quick buck. For instance with the current market and my position in life. Chances are high I will be in my house 5 years from now. That means hard wood floors, granite top counters, in ground sprinkler system, and a sunroom are on the table. Not because I think in the end it will generate more cash from the sale. But because I can actually enjoy it while I live in the house.

 

[Genx87]

Originally posted by: richardycc

Originally posted by: Jugernot
Apparently I haven't watched in a while because I just saw an episode on this weekend (Saturday?) where Armondo said he was no longer in business with his brother because of a difference of opinion? They apparently also changed their name to The Montelongo Companies..... So now the show is just Armondo, his wife, and the intern idiot?

IMO, I wouldn't buy any of their houses, they cut a lot of corners.

Anyone?

he was just lucky the market was good, so he made money even if he screwed up. I predict that he won't be in business anymore, especially with the stupid intern. I like the other show, the one with Richard, Ginger, Trademark company...they are really pro and can flip a house under a week. Armondo usually take weeks to flip one, oh supposingly he has a book out on how to flip houses too.

Is Armondo the arrogant guy? I have only seen a couple of these shows. But the one I saw he really came off as an ass. If that was him.

 

[waggy]

Originally posted by: Genx87

Originally posted by: richardycc

Originally posted by: Jugernot
Apparently I haven't watched in a while because I just saw an episode on this weekend (Saturday?) where Armondo said he was no longer in business with his brother because of a difference of opinion? They apparently also changed their name to The Montelongo Companies..... So now the show is just Armondo, his wife, and the intern idiot?

IMO, I wouldn't buy any of their houses, they cut a lot of corners.

Anyone?

he was just lucky the market was good, so he made money even if he screwed up. I predict that he won't be in business anymore, especially with the stupid intern. I like the other show, the one with Richard, Ginger, Trademark company...they are really pro and can flip a house under a week. Armondo usually take weeks to flip one, oh supposingly he has a book out on how to flip houses too.

Is Armondo the arrogant guy? I have only seen a couple of these shows. But the one I saw he really came off as an ass. If that was him.

yeah and he cuts so many corners i am shocked he is not in jail for fraud or something.

he jhe claims to have all this experiance and eh fuckes up the house doing something wrong. then he covors it up.

 

[AMCRambler]

I like it when the scumbags throw all this money into the house, slap it together as fast as they can doing slipshod work that looks cosmetically good, break local ordinances by working on Sundays and making a lot of racket, and then eating it when their adjustable mortgage rates go up and they can't sell it for what they need to break even. I love that. Then I watch the stock market drop 250 points a day and get pissed off that the government is bailing out these banks because of all this bad credit risks. You're basically watching the reason our housing markets have crashed on prime time tv. Flip That House can Suck My Ass.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Property Ladder has the chick who looks like a tall, intelligent Scarlett Johansen.

Flip That House is lots of fun. About every 3rd show there's somebody who does this professionally and they walk away with near six figures. Having watched pretty much all of these, because my wife loves it, I can now tell within a minute how the flip will go based on my impression of the flipper.

 

[kranky]

Originally posted by: richardycc
I saw the one with the 2 asian guys, one of the believed the number 2 and 8 bring him luck, it was funny as hell...I didn't see the ending thou. my guess is they are no long friends and lost money on that deal?

That's the one I mentioned above.

IIRC, at the end they said the property was still for sale months later and Nathan wasn't willing to drop the price further. He still planned to do 28 flips in a year.

 

[P0pinjay]

Originally posted by: dullard

Originally posted by: Squisher
But, if you're buying a $150K house and putting on granite counter tops, doing a ceramic tile bath, and expecting to get $200K when all the houses in the neighborhood are going for $150K then you're flipping out of your mind.

Exactly. Hopefully, this will be the end of many completely stupid fads: open floor plans, $50k-$100k kitchen remodels, stainless steel everything, massive garages with small attached house, etc.

I bought my house because I wanted to live it in. I didn't like a few things, so I ripped them out. $300 later, I have a fabulous new kitchen countertop. Will I get that $300 back when I sell? Who knows. But I certainly didn't blow $50k on the kitchen hoping to make a buck.

What's wrong with open floor plans?

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Originally posted by: kranky

Originally posted by: richardycc
I saw the one with the 2 asian guys, one of the believed the number 2 and 8 bring him luck, it was funny as hell...I didn't see the ending thou. my guess is they are no long friends and lost money on that deal?

That's the one I mentioned above.

IIRC, at the end they said the property was still for sale months later and Nathan wasn't willing to drop the price further. He still planned to do 28 flips in a year.

Yep. They tried to thermafoil the kitchen cabinets. Then had them painted.....twice. On the day of the open house a light fixture was missing from the bathroom, there were no closet doors, and the carpet had crap on it.

But I think there was something certifiably wrong with that one guy though. With his positive energy and lucky numbers and the way he thought the thermafoil looked great and how he was carrying and stroking that dog like he was a villain from a James Bond movie.

 

[HeroOfPellinor]

Originally posted by: P0pinjay

Originally posted by: dullard

Originally posted by: Squisher
But, if you're buying a $150K house and putting on granite counter tops, doing a ceramic tile bath, and expecting to get $200K when all the houses in the neighborhood are going for $150K then you're flipping out of your mind.

Exactly. Hopefully, this will be the end of many completely stupid fads: open floor plans, $50k-$100k kitchen remodels, stainless steel everything, massive garages with small attached house, etc.

I bought my house because I wanted to live it in. I didn't like a few things, so I ripped them out. $300 later, I have a fabulous new kitchen countertop. Will I get that $300 back when I sell? Who knows. But I certainly didn't blow $50k on the kitchen hoping to make a buck.

What's wrong with open floor plans?

Not everybody likes them. I prefer a little more intimacy to each room.

But if you go to new houses, they ALL have open kitchens. Looks fantastic in a new, clean model home, but when you're trying to relax in the living room and the kitchen is a mess with dishes piled up or clutter on the countertops you may feel differently. Or when somebody goes to grab drinks or pop popcorn during a movie you get to watch the whole process our of your peripherals. Meh.