Flipping Channels: Flipping Houses TV Shows

March 26, 2014 Comments Off

Picture this. You are flipping through the channels trying to find something to watch. You go through several stations…the one reoccurring theme for new TV shows? Flipping Houses.

Since the crash of 2008 Flipping Houses has become a household term. Pretty much everyone knows a “house flipper” or someone trying to invest in real estate. With that popularity have come droves of TV show telling the stories of real estate investors and how much money they are making by flipping houses. It seems every day there is a new one popping up on another station. But how realistic are those TV shows. Can you learn anything from them if you are trying to invest in real estate?

What you can learn from a TV Show

Flip This House has been on since 2005 and aired during the extreme ups and downs of the housing market. Those realtors really seems to know what they are doing and I am sure others out there can learn a lot from their process and how their team operates. The great thing about flipping TV shows is that it has brought the practice to the forefront of many would be investors minds. The popularity of reality flip shows has made “flipping a house” a household term. Another positive is they show how drastic a remodel can be. Our team have flipped some pretty bad homes and we are here to tell you that you can take a dump and make it into something to be proud of.

But wait, don’t take it too seriously

What the magic of TV world shows you in an 1 hour episode in reality could be months. The exact definition of “flipping a house” is to purchase a home below market value, fix it up and hold onto it for less than 6 months. That six months folks–not 60 minutes. In one of Clay Huber’s blogs about reality real estate shows on Bigger Pockets he states, “My stance after having lived through multiple flips and deals: Very Unrealistic.” And that is where the problem lies with the, uh, reality of the reality TV show on investing in real estate. We would agree with the that stance and add that if you are thinking about getting into real estate, do not base your decision solely on what you see on TV. More importantly don’t base all your education solely on what you see on TV.

It is also important to note that these shows rarely show what the true cost and profit are. What about the commissions? What about the closing costs? I don’t remember seeing that on the screen along with the profit listed.

Check your local listing for TV shows on flipping houses. Here are a few to get you started.

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Erik Hitzelberger has been Real Estate Investor since 2007. While learning the ropes in the market down-cycle, he now teaches others how to use his systems and leverage other people’s expertise to achieve their own goals.

Erik Hitzelberger – who has written 194 posts on Part Time REI.