MovieChat Forums > Flip or Flop (2013) Discussion > Now that I've seen a few episodes, I've ...

Now that I've seen a few episodes, I've noticed several trends.

posted 9 years ago by vasq6876
11 replies | jump to latest

I have my DVR set up to record every episode so every Monday I see the five episodes HGTV plays though they're not always from the same season. Having now been able to see a good sample of episodes from different seasons, I've noticed several trends and changes.

First off, it seems they've gotten better at this as they go along. S1 had a lot of flops, while the latest season I haven't seen any yet. Either they've gotten better at selecting their targets or at maximizing their renovations. Their profit margins seem to have increased dramatically as they've gone along too.

They've gotten better at doing some of the work themselves. In S1, Tarek was learning from the contractors, while now he has a better idea of what to do and what things will cost.

Any time anything goes wrong, Tarek thinks it's a terrible tragedy or as he puts it "a nightmare." Seriously man, stop being such a drama queen, you guys are consistently making huge profits by this point.

Tarek usually wants to keep things cheap, but Christina usually gets her way. LOL, no surprise there, if I had a pretty wife, she'd probably win more arguments than me too, but at least Christina actually seems to know what she's doing so he seems to have learned to listen to her style decisions.

Their style of buying has changed. S1 they were usually attending auctions, but in a late S1 episode they hadn't been able to purchase a house in a while so they began trying out short sales. Now they tend to concentrate on troubled properties before they go to auction.

And of course, they seem to have profited from this enterprise. In S1 they once were worried that they were putting all their savings into one house and it wasn't anywhere near as expensive as a house they easily purchased in a later season so I guess it's safe to say they've got more cash to work with now. In fact, in later seasons I got the impression that they were flipping more than one house at a time. Good for them.

Overall, it's an interesting show. It definitely teaches you what to look for if you ever want to buy a house, but you have to watch a lot of episodes to really get the idea. Of course the renovation ideas are great too.

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[–] singjohn 9 years ago

Quartz countertops, laminate floors, gray exterior paint...

[–] jillsand-1 9 years ago

It tends to be Christina's tastes. Even on a flip when Christina was pregnant and not on site, Tarek basically did what he thought she'd like and sent photos on the phone to her for her approval. Christina has a one track mind when it comes to renovations. She tries to do it so all the flips are basically the same. Outside, different tones of grey and white painting. Inside light grey walls, wooden floors everywhere, quartz countertops and similar white brick style tiles as backing. Their idea of colour is mainly when they stage the area with furnishings. You never see a feature wall, or some wallpaper, or anything slightly different. It's always the same. Different suburbs, different size houses and different floorplans, but in every other way, always the same.

[–] vasq6876 9 years ago

Yeah, Christina does have a one track mind, but I've noticed Tarek has learned how to win a few arguments by pointing out how what she's saying wouldn't work. If he can get her to agree, then he wins, but if it becomes a choice of her opinion vs his, he normally backs down, but so far that's turned out to be the right call.

I did see one recently where she tried something different with the concrete countertops instead of quartz because the kitchen was small, and couldn't be expanded much so it wouldn't cost as much and she wanted to try it out.

Like others have pointed out though, the colors and features tend to be the same because they're trying to appeal to the most buyers possible so they're sticking to generic designs.They wouldn't put in a feature wall or anything like that on most houses because it's way too specific.

That being said, when the area/clientele is particular, they've done things like that. I remember one episode they bought a house in a very peculiar area where the houses were all designed by a particular architect and the people buying there wanted certain artistic features so they put something like a feature wall on the deck outside.

I'm so ugly...that's ok 'cause so are you.

[–] RolandBachman 9 years ago

It's the current trend in housing that they apply. Unless they are given scripts Christina seems to know her patterns and what works in different floor plans.

Tarek is also getting good at estimating. But I'm prone to think they script the drama and surprises. I mean, some serious misses like not checking roofs or foundations are so obvious no serious flipper would miss. Its the antagonist of the series.

[–] singjohn 9 years ago

True. 40 years ago people were doing wall-to-wall shag carpet, avocado colored appliances, and velvet wallpaper. Maybe 40 years from now all of Christina's remodels will look just as dated.....

[–] huggie-1 8 years ago

My GrandMa had avocado appliances. I thought they looked so cool back then. It was at her home where I first used a microwave oven and through the door ice and water.

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[–] lovingretirement 8 years ago

Hahaha! I grew up in the 60s and 70s and my mother had the alternative to avocado--Harvest Gold! Yes, yellow appliances. Also, the wallpaper wasn't velvet, it was FLOCKED. My boyfriend's house had a bathroom with white wallpaper with red flocked fleur de lis. It was like peeing in a Christmas card. There was much that was bad about the 70s, especially interior design and fashion.

[–] singjohn 8 years ago

Remember the mirrored wall tiles with fake gold veining in them? Or how about lamps that dripped oil to simulate a rain shower and a naked lady standing in the middle. Good Lord! Those were godawful!

[–] jeffhartley 8 years ago

You never see a feature wall, or some wallpaper, or anything slightly different.

That's true, but that is really the way that a flipper has to think. They know that neutral tones, custom kitchens, upgraded bathrooms and nice looking flooring sells homes fast and potentially at a premium over comps in the area.

They have on occasion mixed it up a bit here and there, but anything that is too personalized is going to introduce unneeded risk.

[–] Kristy98 8 years ago

Also, they overpay for most of these properties. They rarely get it for under asking price and frequently pay over asking. That's generally not the case for properties in the condition that they buy them in.

[–] mamie-lou 8 years ago

That part always drives me crazy! They go and look at the property and see the enormous work it would take to update it, call the owner and give their offer. The owner hems and haws and ends up getting a full price or more offer. Seriously? The house is so dated they're lucky they get close to asking! I mean, they are always making money but I wonder how!