Property Ladder - New show on TLC

[jguitar]

It's called "Flipping Out" I expect it to be "Sunset Tan" does real estate from the Bravo description. I don't think I will be watching it.

"Flipping Out," premiering Tuesday, July 31st at 10PM ET/PT on Bravo, follows the antics of one of Los Angeles' most colorful real estate speculators, Jeff Lewis. It takes a special kind of personality to handle flipping six multimillion-dollar houses at one time, but Lewis, an obsessive compulsive successful businessman, pulls it off and turns a six-figure profit on every property.

Lewis makes his living with the help of a group of diverse and oft disgruntled employees he counts as friends. These include an assistant who moonlights doing voiceover work, a housekeeper and two house assistants, as well as his official "trash man," who moonlights as an actor and his assistant's husband. Add to the mix his business partner and former boyfriend, his various therapists and spiritual advisors and it's clear that this intriguing cast of characters lives as one big dysfunctional family.

"Let's face it, the people I have working for me aren't necessarily the most qualified individuals," notes Lewis. "But the people that take care of me and my home and my pets are the most important part of this business. They can't leave. I can't do this without them."

Like most families, Lewis' extended family has its share of issues, which results in the occasional confrontation and even a firing or two. Aware of his "Flipping Out" tendencies, Lewis attempts to counteract them with therapy, spiritual healers, psychics, and other advisors, but things are always flipping in Lewis' world.

Each day comes with a new barrage of problems, from dealing with workers not showing up to the job site, to learning that his cat, Monkey, is having an adverse reaction to his acupuncture session. Despite mounting pressure to sell some property in order to keep his business afloat, Lewis' pets and surrogate family frequently become the focus of his attention. When a beloved cat goes missing for a few hours, it creates a mini-crisis that brings Lewis' life to a complete standstill. And it just may spell the end for one of his employees.

[Google]

 

[Bearcata]

I'll tape the first episode and check it out. It may be a potential Top Chef. It has got to be better than A&E's Flip This House. I am at the point though were I might cut back and choose just one or two of the shows to watch. At this point there are too many 'flipping' shows on. With Bravo's entry I do think the field has reached the saturation point.

[Bearcata]

Do not buy any houses flipped by Robert and Sergio. I hope when people see this show that Robert and Sergio are sued, they are a bunch of flim flam artists. The best quote by Sergio, is 'I don't care, I don't have to live in this house'. This guy is a salesman without a conscience. If this house sat on sinkhole he would not disclose it just take your money and run and pat himself on the back.

[jguitar]

Do not buy any houses flipped by Robert and Sergio.

I wonder if they took Armando's home study course.

[Bearcata]

Sergio and Robert are both 26, Robert is a mortgage broker and Sergio a salesman, implied was that he was also a real estate agent. They share an office and Sergio has flipped before and will be mentoring Robert. they buy a 900 sf home in Ponoma California fro $270,000. Wow that's cheap for California. It is in a transitional area and they plan to renovate and add an addition for $20,000 all in 4 wks. The average price of a 3 bdrm bungaloo in that area is $350,000. They want to then sell the house for $420,000 for a profit of $130,000. What a pair of greedy bastards. Neither has any construction experience, both work full time and want to do this as cheaply as possible. Day 1 is just perfect the general contractor never shows up. Armondo the GC is a friend of Sergio's. Day 2 demo starts. Week , Armondo is in jail for 2 warrants and ends up in jail for 2 months. Being wonderful entrepeneurs they do nothing for the next 3 weeks. They interview 3 contractors and get estimated of 40,000, 37,000, and 30,000. Sergio tells them all that they are just trying to rip him off. Ah, someone with less tact than A&E's FTH's Armondo Montelongo. The boys decide to not do the additional as Kirsten recommended. Instead, they are reducig their budget from $20,000 to $10,000 and cause they have already had to pay a mortgage payment they now have only $7,000 left in their budget. In addition Sergio is very rude and pushes his cheap day laborers because after 15 hours on the job they are tired and want to go home. So he fires them. A window is left unsecured and $400 worth of tile is stolen. Sergio is furious. He also takes the carpet from his own house and tells the contractors to use it in the house. Every time a fix is needed the contractors ask Sergio what to do to fix it he tells them to cover it up, as he doesn't care cause he doesn't live there. At this point I was just furious with this guy. What a jerk, no character at all. Kirsten of course drops by and notes all the unfinished work and asks Sergio what he thinks about the quality of the workmanship and he actually tells her he thinks its the best workmanship there is possible. then the camera finds cracks, unfinished floors, no applicances in the kitchen, loose wires in the ceiling, and on and on. Then Robert and Sergio get into and argument as far as sodding the yard. Sergio of course is negative and Robert goes ahead and does it to the tune of $3,000. So after 2.5 months the house is "done". So with a budget of $17,500 plus carrying costs for a total of 23,500. The team wants to market it at $390,000. Three realtos give them quotes of $339,000, $325,000 and $325,000. Thankfully some people catch all the problems during the open house but some think it is lovely. They end up getting an offer for $370,000 which they accept for a potential profit of $76,500. These guys are of course happy and want to flip again. Please anybody if you see these guys run, they are idiots.

[MamaC]

I couldn't believe how this guy thought the workmanship was the best! And the bringing in of his used wall-to-wall from his house! The whole argument over the sodding, what would the yard have looked like without it?

I did chuckle when the tiles got ripped off though. Too bad, they only amounted to $400. Would have liked to have seen something more expensive taken.

[Bearcata]

Originally Posted by MamaC

I couldn't believe how this guy thought the workmanship was the best! And the bringing in of his used wall-to-wall from his house! The whole argument over the sodding, what would the yard have looked like without it?

I did chuckle when the tiles got ripped off though. Too bad, they only amounted to $400. Would have liked to have seen something more expensive taken.

What really had me going was how pleased Sergio was with himself over getting a "great deal" on the kitchen cabinents and counters and the counters were a bright blue. Ugh it was ugly and no appliances. What was he thinking?? I would love to talk to the homeowner, what were they thinking buying that house???

[MamaC]

I don't think I have EVER seen that color blue on countertops. And the ends or sides of the countertops were not even finished!

I have to also wonder if the fools who bought it thought they were really getting some kind of deal since it is, after all, California property. But still...

I still think the best part of the whole property was the sod!

I think it was mentioned that he had done flips before. One would have to wonder how those homes turned out. And he is still going to flip more houses. I think sooner, rather than later, it will all catch up to him and he will lose money. Quality of craftmanship, or in this case the lack of it, combined with the downturn in the real estate market are going to get him in the end.

Still I enjoyed the show. I kept thinking "Is this guy for real? Has he never watched these types of shows before?" PL has shown people who clearly didn't have a clue, but this guy (Sergio) takes the cake!

[bee stung lips]

Ok, this is the first episode of a house flipping show that actually made me angry. This guy got on my last nerve. I couldn't believe this cheapskate loser! Blue countertops???? Holes in the walls? Unfinished moldings??? Uneven walls??? Laying used carpets he pulled up from his own house???And THIS was their finished product??? Honestly, preschoolers could have done better. Mr Cheapo wasn't even going to allow sods to be laid on the front yard for curb appeal. The only thing he cared about was making a quick buck. I was hoping the house would sit on the market for months and months to teach him a lesson but low and behold it sold in two days - amazing!

Just goes to show that to some people the love of money outweighs everything.

[Bearcata]

Now that I am calmed down a bit from watching those two horrid flippers Robert and Segio, I must admit the two following episodes of Flip That House were such a total constrast. Both Flippers were going into their projects with their eyes open. Having done research and being prepared as far as budget and timeline and having experienced qualified people work for them and not being greedy.

Ep 1 was in Nashville, TN and it was Laura's first flip. A little house built in the 1930's. 2 bedrooms and 1 bath. I like how she went in and knew she would have to move a wall creating a foyer and front hallway so there would be direct access from the front door to the kitchen, instead having to get to the kitchen through the larger bedroom. What was the architect thinking when this house was originally designed. She purchased the house for $63,000 and it was 930 sf and the budget was $25,000 and the timeline was 2 months. I like what she did to the floors, fireplace. That really added to the character of the house restoring the original fireplace and leaving the front parlor floor in its original state instead of refinishing it or replacing it. While I don't like the its old and has patina and character look some people do. This woman was smart in relocating closets and puting the money into the kitchen and bathroom. I honestly think the original property had an outhouse and the bathroom was a later addition. Her house looked like the total package, restored, updated but certain architectural elements kept to add character, charm and value to the home. The final numbers were $63,000 plus a budget of $46,000 for a total of $109,000. Notice how the budget almost doubled. Yet it was done in on time and accessed at $139,000 for a potential profit of $30,000.

The second episode was in NOHO, north Hollywood with David, who has been flipping houses for 5 yrs now. he mentioned that the market has turned but if you do your research you can still make a profit. His house was a corner rental property, 1,366 sf, 3 bedrooms and 1 and 3/4 baths, purchased for $365,000. Although the house and yard were not in good condition the price astounded me cause that is low for LA. David had a budget of $40,000 and a timeline of 6 wks. He replaced the windows and doors, put in a concrete overlay on the floor through out the house and extended that to a patio in back and the front stoop and walkway and it was a really nice touch. I like the concrete pathways in put in back. That could be seen as very handicap accessible. He sodded, put in an irrigation system and kept the mature plantings. Saved on the walls by fixing what was there and repainting them. Overall I like what he did to the kitchen and bathtub, except for that awful chocolate swirl effect he did in the bathtub. That looked disgusting. What really was surprised is that he has the property accessed at $610,000, which was way more then he had expected and that meant he had a potential profit of $200,000. Even if it sold for $510,000 he still would make money.

Still the overall quality of the projects made you feel as if good work and materials had gone into the houses and that people could actually live there unlike Sergio's house in the Property Ladder episode.