So Cal Renovation - Flip or Flop

9 years ago

I happened to see an HGTV show this week about renovating homes for flipping in my neighborhood, Orange County, CA.

The guy just spent $1200 on converting staircase to rod iron while my bids for the same size stairs are $10K. They did a custom kitchen design that was larger than my kitchen for $10K and the builder was designing the plans with them and had the "custom" cabinets ready for install in 24 hrs while I'm looking at 8 weeks and 3X the cost.

Are these prices fake? or am I just not finding the right contractors.

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9 years ago

And how fast they do these renovations? We are moving attic access, washer and dryer into a closet that has to be reconfigured, gutting bathroom and kitchen. Our GC says 2 1/2 months. I'm assuming three.

Dh was watching one of those shows and they did a whole house renovation in like four weeks. Dh was joking that our GC must be really slow.

Some "news" show should do an expose on one of those renovation shows--how much does it really cost (including any "free" labor and product placements), what corners do they cut and how many hours were really worked.

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Comments (9)

AtomicJay007
9 years ago
IMO they are totally unrealistic real world prices. I think contractors may give these folks lower rates because of the volume of business the flippers offer and because of the exposure on TV. This is not unique to this HGTV show, either. I think Property Brothers and some others also understate the actual costs of these projects.
cookncarpenter
9 years ago
Yes, It's all bogus TV prices for the ratings. ...speaking from 63 years in OC, over 35 of them as a custom home builder/remodeler
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chitown_mary
9 years ago
Like it or not, they are pure entertainment, not documentaries. They also do a heck of a lot of product placement, so the next time you make a design decision based on "trends" you are seeing on all those home and garden shows, stop for a moment and consider the source.
schicksal
9 years ago
Maybe it's materials only. Maybe...

Totally bogus for anyone in the real world though.
User
9 years ago
Not even materials are that inexpensive unless they're cheepchinese. TV ain't the real world or we'd all be young and thin with a beach house and chic boho NYC apartment.
bpath
9 years ago
Although, in one of those episodes, the porch needed raising and the roof was affected, too. It made us feel better about the quote we had gotten just that day to raise our porch, and confirmed my suspicions that our porch roof might be affected, too.

I wonder also about the "problems they uncover" that, really? They didn't see the first time they walked through? And they spend more time choosing granite than planning layout.

But that's okay, it's all fun. I watch it while on the elliptical.
jellytoast
9 years ago
We always laugh at the pricing when the flippers walk through the homes with their contractor. The contractor will quote some ridiculously cheap price for something, and the flipper will cry, "That's half my budget!!" Well, that's what you get for buying a dump and giving yourself $30,000 for a whole house remodel including all new kitchen, appliances, new bathrooms, new flooring, paint ... the works. If they are actually remodeling those homes for the prices they are showing on TV, I'd sure hate to live in one when they get through with it, and if I ever saw one of TV flipper's realtor signs on the lawn of a house I was going to look at, I'd drive right on by.
bpath
9 years ago
I've seen a "knock it off"'episode a couple of times where not only do they seem to be walking on a tile floor an hour after it's been laid, but the tile backsplash is clearly not grouted and missing tile around the window sill. I like their knockoffs, and the tension is fun for the viewer, but things need to set and cure for goodness sake; how many fingerprints are embedded in the painted cabinet doors, and how much peels off because a drawer was closed while still tacky?

I watch those shows for the ideas and personalities, not for the reality, because it's not reality! Now This Old House, THAT's reality. Months on a project and they talk about codes, permitting, neighbors, etc. not like they are in impediment but as just another thing to tend to. Just like the rest of us.

So Cal Renovation - Flip or Flop

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