If you haven’t yet seen the addicting TV show “Flip or Flop” on HGTV, you have a lot to catch up on. It’ll make you want to visit a site like https://benbuysindyhouses.com/ so that you can start flipping homes yourself! Christina and Tarek El Moussa are husband and wife real estate agents turned creative designer and contractor who face hilarious and dramatic circumstances to “flip” distressed properties into gorgeous new homes. Christina and Tarek are making the most of the televised show and other strategies such as brand messaging for contractors as part of their marketing efforts for their remodeling design and contract business, in the hopes that bettering their marketing processes, will increase their customer base and the overall success of their company. It is important when carrying out extensive renovations that you ensure title 24 compliance is your ultimate priority. What makes it interesting is that things don’t always go as planned, and the adorable and gritty couple faces some pretty big conflicts to transform homes into something classy, appealing, and under budget.
Finishing up their sixth season and starting another one with a new addition to the family, Christina, and Tarek El Moussa tackles bigger projects and new challenges. On March 12, L’ETAGE met up with the dynamic duo at Temple House Miami to celebrate their newest partnership with marble and tile company TREND. The magazine also spoke with them about their bold lifestyle and the remodeling business.
L’Etage : So first off, Congratulations on your newest addition to the family! What’s it like having a second kid so far? What are some of the challenges? What about pleasant surprises?
Christina: Amazing! He is the happiest baby ever, such a sweetheart. He brings so much joy to our lives.
Tarek: He’s our rockstar.
Christina: Honestly we’ve tried for years to have a second child. So it’s nothing but good news, not really any challenges.
L’Etage : Are you excited to be working with Trend? Their designs seem pretty stunning from the displays here at Temple House.
Christina: I’ve not been excited about a new company like ever. But right when I saw their products, I knew it was a perfect fit. Their designs are very modern and unique and it’s exactly what we were looking for our new style.
L’Etage: From your show, I now know how important tile work and granite is to the look of an interior. Now that you‘re working with TREND Group and their sister company Granite Transformations how will it impact remodeling?
Christina: Honestly, it’s going to be so much easier for us. We finally have a product we love and that we’re going to be able to use. It’ll make our designs different and more fun. I can tell the buyers are going to be pretty obsessed with them.
Tarek: I think so too.
L’Etage: What do you look for when buying a property? What do you see as potential that you could work with? Any specific things you keep an eye out for? What‘s an absolute deal breaker for you?
Tarek: You have to buy it right. I tell everyone that we will buy any house at the right price. This is something I always encourage people to do. Don’t let the price of the house put you off – I know everyone has budgets, but you can always get things like a bridging loan (it’s advisable to use a bridging loan calculator to do this) to help you afford it. The biggest thing is the potential profit margin – if it is really bad and you can improve it to make money on it, then great. It doesn’t really matter how bad it is… actually, we prefer it the worse it is. Because it’s a lot more exciting to fix it up and resell it. It’s rewarding too. We come into neighborhoods and fix up the houses that probably aren’t nice for the neighbors to look at. The property values go up and people love living in their new homes.
Christina: No deal breakers!
Tarek: We’ll look at any house at any price and if it works it works.
L’Etage: You’ve gone from renovating one house at a time to tackling 20 to 25 projects at a time. How do you manage all the details? Would you say that there’s a formula to the job or is every situation unique?
Christina: I would say there is a formula. We follow current trends, and we do a lot of research. It’s about appealing to the buyers.
L’Etage: What is the most difficult part of fixing a property?
Tarek: Not going over budget!
Christina: Making your husband happy! (laughs)
L’Etage: What‘s next for you two? Any big ventures or life plans on the horizon?
Christina: Currently we’re about to start filming season 7 of “Flip or Flop” and we’re working on a pilot for an upcoming show.
Check out Flip or Flop on HGTV Thursdays from 8 till 9 p.m. / For more info go to http://www.hgtv.com/shows/flip-or-flop
