Flip this House - on A&E

[Bearcata]

A&E knows how much the viewing public loves Armondo Montolongo and will be having a brand new episode featuring the King of All Megolomaniacs this Saturday, September 8th, 2007 on A&E at 9pm EDT.

[Google]

 

[Bearcata]

I must admit this is the worst Flip This House I have ever seen. Even I who am very easy going as far as how these shows are produced could see how staged this episode was. I really do not like that Armondo changes his tune every other show. In it for profit. In it for the people. Then they have Veronica doing it. One moment stay in the budget and the next do what I say and screw the budget.

Aida Scurka's father died and they are having family issues and need to sell Dad's house. Supposedly two other investors have looked as the house and only offered $50,000, she wants $75,000. Armondo being a good guy gives it to her because according to him real estate is about people and the figures/numbers will resolve themselves. Huh, is this the Armondo we all despise. Being nice??? Don't think so.

Armondo wants the house ready in 21 days and for a budget of $17,200. From day one Brent, the project manager and Randy, the contractor have been butting heads. This is so fake especially the pig wrestle at the end. It is so manufactured. I am so glad I recorded this, cause I just fast forwarded through almost all the show it was so painful to watch. Even Armondo is becoming a caricature of himself and that's hard to do, being an even more overblown idot then before. Come on an experienced flipper knows to budget 10 to 20 percent for unexpected fixes and lets face it the roof was an unexpected fix so why blow up about it. All in all the only reason the fight between Brent and Randy happened was so Armondo and Veronica could show of their new pet potbelly pig, Sugar.

The house was built in 1972. 4 bedrooms, 2 baths. 2067 sq ft. The 2 car garage was converted to a game room. If you subtract that sq footage the original house was only 1,667 sf. What does amaze me is that the house only sold for $75,000. The original budget was increased to $18,200 and another $3,000 added for the roof repair for a total of $21,200. They want to sell it for $143,000 for a potential profit of $46,000.

[Margaritaville]

I have to say - this was the most obviously scripted episode yet. And it was terrible! Brent and Randy are really bad actors - you could just see the lines running through their heads as they were speaking. I, also, am very tired of Armando changing his philosophy every episode - all about $$ or people - which is it? You cannot have it both ways.

I got the feeling that he shot this episode trying to redeem his image. Never before have I seen him with such an emphasis on being a dad - and hearing "Mondoman" every 10 seconds was extremely annoying. Also, he seemed to want to make it clear that he felt the need to help that family out by purchasing the house for more than it was worth. I have never seen him do that before - in previous episodes, you would have seen him offer the 50,000 only. As I said - he is trying for a better image - and it did not work for me. He is still a very crooked businessman, imo.

[jguitar]

Like I mentioned before I don't watch the shows with Armando but I am on his mailing list and just have to share the latest with you, he is so full of crap it's unbelievable.

Today I am going to get to the point and
share a VERY POWERFUL STRATEGY
for acquiring properties.

If you saw last night’s new television episode
“Estate of Affairs” you should of picked up on
a valuable lesson.

When I was purchasing the property the seller
told me that several investors try to purchase
the property before I came along and simply
“pick the property apart”.

She told me that it seemed that they only cared
about numbers and not the fact that her father
had passed away – which is why she was selling
the property.

These investors…



VIOLATED THE # 1 RULE IN REAL ESTATE!



Real Estate Rule # 1:
You must care about PEOPLE before
you care about numbers!

You may think this is a simple concept. However, if
there is one mistake that I see most beginning
investors make it is not listening to the needs of a
seller.

How does caring for people help you make
great deals? Simple…

When you listen with the intentions of actually
helping the seller, the seller will tell you what they
need in order for you to buy the house at a discount.

This is what I mean so listen carefully…

People love talking about one thing more than anything,
THEMSELVES.

Once people get to talk about themselves, they will feel
comfortable with you.

Once they feel comfortable with you, sellers will give
you the following information which is a MUST to
make any real estate deal.

1. Why they are selling the property. Once they tell

you their motivation, you have the best buying/
negotiation tool available.

2. Their time frame. This is EXTREMELY important

to know as time is a huge motivation for most sellers
in distress. The quicker you buy the property, the
quicker the seller gets their money.

3. The price. As you can see, acquiring the information

of getting the price comes last. This is because only
after the seller knows you care, after you find the
reasons “why” they are selling the property and
after you know the time frame they need to sell it
in, do you have any leverage to negotiate price.

You see, the woman who sold me the “Estate of Affairs”
house later told me she simply wanted someone to
who cares to buy the house.

So remember, sellers aren’t interested only in how
much you’re willing to pay, most of the time they
are interested in how much you’re willing to care.

--Armando Montelongo
President
Armando Montelongo Worldwide Inc

[Bearcata]

Originally Posted by jguitar

Like I mentioned before I don't watch the shows with Armando but I am on his mailing list and just have to share the latest with you, he is so full of crap it's unbelievable.

Like you said, he is just full of it.

[Margaritaville]

Originally Posted by jguitar

Like I mentioned before I don't watch the shows with Armando but I am on his mailing list and just have to share the latest with you, he is so full of crap it's unbelievable.

He is even more full of crap than I gave him credit for! Could he be more full of himself??? No, don't think so

[Margaritaville]

Another interesting tidbit on Assmando -

The University Star | Texas State University - San Marcos - A&E falls short on agreement with students, faculty member

Apparently he does not follow through on his promises? Noooo, say it ain't so

[Bearcata]

Originally Posted by Margaritaville

Another interesting tidbit on Assmando -

The University Star | Texas State University - San Marcos - A&E falls short on agreement with students, faculty member

Apparently he does not follow through on his promises? Noooo, say it ain't so

Boo Hoo - Assmando (BTW, luv the new name) - not doing what he said he would. You know liars say so many things they do not mean and it is hard to keep track of what they said.

[candor]

He's such a con man! Makes me want to take a shower after I watch those shows. I hate the hamfisted product placement, like the "excellent" flooring that sounded just like a commercial and that playhouse, which we know darned well he didn't pay for.

I'm sure he justifies the con by saying that's part of reality TV (and unfortunately it is), but he's the most transparent faker of them all -- treating his viewers like idiot marks.

I get the feeling that A&E and even TLC allow the show's subjects to be the producers, which would explain a lot. I remember reading where the Montelongos posted some casting call for a crowd scene in one of the show's episodes. Even Richard Davis's new show is just an hour-long infomercial, which it wouldn't be if it were handled by a professional production company.

[helpmeturnitoff]

I liked last night's new episode with Than & Paul. Why can't A&E show more of them? They actually rehab the houses and care about the product they sell. It still has the A&E scripting going on but it's much easier to swallow.