Property Ladder TV show on TLC

[evergreen]

I watch for entertainment and upgrade ideas mainly.

These shows are full of such holes that showing what someone made or if they sold is just fanfare.

It is like the show on HGTV that shows homeowners fixing up their home to sell for just $2000. They leave out the labor, which on some of those shows would have run $10k+.

I plan to check out the new show this Sunday to see how good/bad it is.

This reminds me of Poker. Couple years ago it starts going really mainstream and little shows start popping up. Same thing here. We will probably start seeing more new shows on rehabbing and the like.

[Dan732]

Evergreen, It's Reality TV! It's suppose to be fake!

[CHIRODOC]

 :o
Man, I love the shows.  Not that this show moved my wife and I to consider REI but has confirmed a fact for me.  If those complete Nocommpooops can do it ANYBODY can.  The Mom was in Houston area for sure, I'm in DFW and there ain't no way to get that much water here even with a plumbing leak .  

I agree, I really don't have a clue what her M.B.A. has to do with REI.  I have a doctorate and my wife has an M.B.A. - so what.  I think I can do this because I rehabbed our first house myself (a foreclosure) and about the pocket the equity.  We just bought another  foreclosure to live in.  Small deals, we walk in with $35K equity and a house we will like living in-might as well do some to make some cash, too.  Education in real estate is OJT.  

That particular show cracked me up.  Did you guys see the house she lives in?  That's a freakin Texas mansion.  Probable facts are "hubby" makes enough dough that this was just to keep wifey busy cause she ain't living in the "real world".  More than likely they have enough dough to lose money on that project.  However, if true, she made money by being completely incompetent proving once again...If they can do it-anyone can.  (Sounds sexist but I just had a point to make-that's all)

And no thanks to that useless "real estate investor" friend.  If that guy knew what he was doing Home Depot would be the last place I'd be shopping for cabinets...an investor that doesn't know any wholesellers/contractors isn't an investor they are a consumer (retail).  I love it when he thought the flooring contractor said it was "$260 to redo all her hardwood floors...uhh no that's square footage and $4K bubba".  

In a nutshell ALL these shows are great b/c it also shows how easy it is to spend tens of thousands and go bust (the other Texas show (couple)).  That house should have been flipped-no repairs.  Fast nickel not slow dime.

Others I love...Designed to Sell (although all Ca. homes is really not a challenge to sell-everything is going over asking price.  Try doing that in Texas.).  These all seem like copycat shows of ones I've seen on BBC in England.

I'd like to see how these guys bought the properties-everybody here can probably do a better job on rehab and selling than the guys I've seen on the shows. ???  The host (hottie) says she's flipped about 40 props and is an actress/model- I believe it.  I saw one show and she looked about 1 1/2 feet taller than the other couple.  Whew.  But she does have really good observations.  Good show but I think it will scare as many people off as it attracts.

[evergreen]

All the host does is swing the sledgehammer once and she is off. They should show her getting all hot and dirty working on a house. Perhaps a break to be doused in water. Viewership would probably go up :D

I still think the Bar Girl Condo episode was a classic.

[kdhastedt]

I hoping to catch that episode on a weekday rerun...I keep hearing it's a hoot.

Keith

[Jack9]

Re: the twins LA rehab

This was the most nauseating of any episode. I think that is why they saved this one for last.

I am not sure why they advertised this as a twin rehab,  one woman did all the work and planning.  She was completly incompetent. The only reason she made any money was because the market surged during the filming. I'm embarassed to be in the same business as her.

Let's see:

$444,000   purchase price
    86,000   rehab costs
    20,000   holding costs (5 months, estimated)
    10,000   purchase closing costs (estimated)
      8,000   seller concessions (estimated)
      2,000   sale closing costs
    27,000   Realtor fees (4%, estimated)
  660,000   sale price (???)
-------------
  $63,000  net profit (assuming all their numbers are accurate)

I am going to go get drunk. Nevermind, I am already drunk.

[carlittle]

Remind me to have wine and caviar at my next showing. I knew something was missing.

I am waiting for the show:

"This is Gary. He has a GED from Alabama High. He bought this manufactured home for $5,000, plans to put his last $300 that Jed lent him in repairs and will try to sell it for $8,000. He hopes to sell in just 2 weeks because he has no food and is out of Chew."

Now that I have wiped away the tears and managed to breath again, the image of the young kid from "Three Kings" movie comes to mind... "I really ain't got no day job."

[deedeelynn]

The "Twins" Rehab.......

Oh....My.....Goodness!!!
This episode was too much!  Who wastes that much time on a paint decision?  Or that much money, trying to make a decision?  She had NO plan whatsoever.  At least the guy from the episode with the couple who had the 3 yr old, he had a schedule.  As funny as it seemed back then, it makes sense now.

In my opinion, she seemed to be making choices based on her own tastes and wasn't looking at what was going to make the house sell.  I know most rehabbers go the neutral route, but I think that's what works, unless it's in a historic district and you have to match your neighbors, which this woman was just fighting tooth and nail!  Who puts red on top of green with red steps?!  That was SO repulsive!  

The kitchen was a joke.  If I was a buyer and thought I could deal with the freeway issue, the kitchen would be the deciding factor, I think.  Taking out those cabinets was a dumb idea.  The colors were ugly.  The fridge looked like it shrunk in the new space.  

I felt sorry for her contractors.  

She said at one point that she didn't plan on the mortgage payments.  Huh?  Did she forget that important expense?  Sheesh!  

Question:  If that house sold for 679K.......do the people in that state make a lot more money compared to where I live, MO?   The reason I ask that is because here you can get a mansion (well, it's a mansion to me, lol) for that price!  For example:  http://www.realtor.com/Prop/1044487162?lnksrc=00045 or http://www.realtor.com/Prop/1044338192?lnksrc=00045.  Someone please explain this to me.  If a nurse here gets paid, oh, let's say, $12 per hour, do they get paid twice that amount in CA?

[NoMoneyDown]

deedeelynn -

I'm only guessing here, but I believe most of the "buyers" in California these days are speculators.  I'm sure there are honest buyers in the market, but I recall reading somewhere that the state has become nothing more than a hotbed for speculative investing.  The person who bought this house, for example, will probably turn right around and sell it again to some other speculator for a profit.  That's why so many people feel California is ripe for a bust.

Additionally, a lot of people buying homes in California are using interest-only (IO) or, more recently, negative amortization loans.  Add that to the crazy appreciation rates, and unwary investors there are essentially playing a game of financial Russian roullette.  It's only a matter of time before the market there sees a reversing trend.  Whoever manages to leave beforehand will make huge profits - whoever is left holding the proverbial bag will get burned big time.  I believe its already happening in San Fransisco.

I think the majority of these "Property Ladder" shows focus on properties in California (specifically, the coastal cities), which is a shame.  They should be focusing more on "normal" markets, instead of overinflated ones like California.  The show really gives a funneled view of the world of real estate investing, IMHO, on this and other accounts (especially the nondisclosure of ALL monies involved).

[lmoyer]

I wonder about all the people watching this show who think "if these people can make $100K plus on one house I can make more since I am much sharper than them."  How much money will they loose by investing in real estate?  In my opinion this show does a disservice to the public by making it look so easy.

Lyle

[Jack9]

deedeelynn -


I think the majority of these "Property Ladder" shows focus on properties in California (specifically, the coastal cities), which is a shame.  They should be focusing more on "normal" markets, instead of overinflated ones like California.  The show really gives a funneled view of the world of real estate investing, IMHO, on this and other accounts (especially the nondisclosure of ALL monies involved).

I'm guessing that to save money the producers spread a film crew around to houses located within a couple of hours drive of each other. As you are aware, SoCal is a logical place to film a project because of the availability of professional film crews.   There have been 5 SoCal houses and 3 Houston/TX  houses. All 5 SoCal homes made good money because of the housing bubble. All 3 TX rehabbers got their a$$ kicked.  THE TX cousins just about broke even. MBA Mom made about $10K, last week's couple couldn't even sell  for a profit, so they had to rent the place out.

Hopefully the show will have another season or two. Eventually the SoCal market will reverse and we will have the delight of watching some  novice rehabbers go belly up.

[Jack9]

The "Twins" Rehab.......

Question:  If that house sold for 679K.......do the people in that state make a lot more money compared to where I live, MO?   The reason I ask that is because here you can get a mansion (well, it's a mansion to me, lol) for that price!  For example:  http://www.realtor.com/Prop/1044487162?lnksrc=00045 or http://www.realtor.com/Prop/1044338192?lnksrc=00045.  Someone please explain this to me.  If a nurse here gets paid, oh, let's say, $12 per hour, do they get paid twice that amount in CA?

Salaries are higher in CA. But not so much higher that it offsets the housing prices. The affordability index in coastal CA is ridiculously low. Here is a quote:
""California was easily the state with the least affordable real estate market.  An incredible 19 of the 25 least affordable markets are located in California.  The least affordable housing market in the third quarter was the Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Lompoc metropolitan area, where less than 5-percent of homes sold were affordable to families earning the median household income of $64,700.  The median house sale price during the quarter was $447,000.  Compared to the first quarter of 2004, the numbers show a substantial decrease in affordability, where the median price was $380,000 and nearly 11-percent of homes sold were affordable to median-income earners.""

How can anyone think that an affordability index of 5% is sustainable?

[vtime]

For all of you discussing the California real estate market, let me try and answer your assumptions.  I live in Northern California in an area where a 1000 sq foot, 2/1 home goes for up to $750k.  Now, when you think about it, how much do you want to make on a flip?  What are your goals?  I would hope atleast 20% min.  So, I buy a 2/1 that needs remodelling for $575k, fix it up for $50k, and then sell it for $750, I just made about 20%.  It is all a numbers game.  To even get a house to flip is going to cost a min. of $500k, and the down payment for that usually needs to be 20% since we have an inflated market.  And as far as a bubble bursting, well, if it hasn't burst yet, it isn't going to.  This area got hit so hard during the internet bust, and guess what, property values still went up.  The problem with California is that 1) a lot of people want to live here, and they are moving here constantly 2) there is no where to build in the best places to live 3) foreigners with money or high paying jobs in Silicon Valley are moving here and are able to pay $$$ for housing.

It is a hard market to uncover the great houses to flip, but if you do, there is serious $$ to be made.  

[evergreen]

That episode was so funny. Talk about lazy and incompetent. I love how she was complaining about the 4k mort payment and then goes off on a trip lol

She did a poor job. The refrigerator looked like the black hole, the kitchen was amateur at best. The counter was crap. You mean to tell me you can't spring $250 for a cheap new range?

Also, how many days are needed to go buy a stupid shower fixture? I mean crap, you could go grocery shopping at Costco and run into one.

The sad part is, thanks to a fast appreciating market, she made out. I would love to see her do a flip in the midwest.

How in the heck do you not know the Kitchen is your money point and you are an "appraiser"?

Oh, I don't care much for the kitchen so my buyers won't either. I mean really, who wouldn't want to eat dinner in a closet? :D

Nothing like buying multiple lights to try them out at home.

That color of that house gave me acid reflux.

They should go back and show the house 6 months later. I bet it is a new color and totally reworked.

[molarband]

TLC Property ladder is a load of crap.  They always forget to deduct the cost of selling the house and closing costs.  I want to see them try flipping somewhere else besides California.