Why Can’t Tarek and Christina Sell This House? Inside Their ‘Creepiest’ Flop to Date

HGTV; realtor.com

Tarek El Moussa and Christina Anstead might be in over their heads in their most recent “Flip or Flop” episode, “Additional Problems.”

At first, flipping a house in Long Beach, CA, seems like a safe bet to this former couple. They know the area, they’ve flipped houses there before, and comps in the neighborhood look promising. But the house they buy has a strange layout, limited space, and one long room that gives Anstead the creeps.

Will this house prove to be their first serious flop of the season? Here’s what they do to fix up this house, and some lessons we can take home with us.

A two-car garage is a major perk

When El Moussa and Anstead first tour this home, they’re not sure, when they look at it, if the house has a one- or two-car garage.

At the end of the driveway, there’s a single garage door with odd paneling where the second door should be. As it turns out, the house started out with a two-car garage, but its previous owners turned one side into a bare, narrow room whose exact purpose is a mystery. Anstead calls it “the creepiest room ever.”

Anstead and El Moussa aren’t sure what to do. Should they try to work with the awkward room, or convert it back to garage space?

In the end, they decide that garage space is just too valuable to pass up.

“Obviously, it’s a two-car garage in Long Beach,” El Moussa says, “that brings value.” So, they decide to reframe the space and put in a new garage door. Goodbye, creepy room!

No room for a kitchen island? Try a kitchen peninsula

Perhaps the worst feature in Anstead and El Moussa’s latest project is the tiny kitchen.

“What is this? This is the kitchen?” Anstead says when she first sees the space. “This is the smallest kitchen I’ve ever seen in my life.”

The space is indeed very small, but these flippers know they need to work with what they’ve got. One way they do this is by choosing a peninsula over a kitchen island.

While kitchen islands may be more on trend, the space is clearly not big enough for an island and room to walk around it. So, they go with the next best thing.

In the end, the peninsula is certainly the right choice. It not only adds counter space, but helps with the kitchen’s flow.

“This looks really nice,” Anstead says when the kitchen starts to take shape. “The peninsula is cool.”

This peninsula is the obvious choice in this small kitchen.

HGTV

Easy access to the backyard is a must

Anstead and El Moussa make a lot of changes to the layout of this house. They turn a living room into a large master bedroom and add a bedroom and bathroom. During renovation, though, they realize that there’s one big problem with the layout: The only way to access the backyard is through the master bedroom.

“I think we were just so busy focusing on the addition and the layout and all these different things, we completely forgot about the yard access,” El Moussa says.

Of course, convenient access to the yard is a must, and the team needs to correct the oversight. So, they add another door in the living area.

It’s an extra $750 to install the door, but the cost is well worth it. Not only does it make for a much better layout, but the window in the door also provides more light for the hallway.

In the end, Anstead and El Moussa are happy with the fix.

“I’m really glad we added this door,” El Moussa says, as he passes by.

Not all front doors need a pop of color

Speaking of doors, El Moussa and Anstead have another door-related issue during this renovation.

Together, they choose paint colors for the home’s exterior, and while Anstead wants a yellow door that will make a statement against the blue they choose for the rest of the house, El Moussa vetoes her choice and decides on a turquoise door.

But it’s soon clear that El Moussa’s pick was the wrong choice, too. The turquoise door clashes with the slate blue exterior of the house, and Anstead and El Moussa know they need to change it.

They decide to play it safe the second time—and paint the door white. Thankfully, the new door looks great with the rest of the house—and proves that not every front door has to have a bold color. Sometimes, a simple entrance is all a house can handle.

Second time’s the charm: The classic white door looks great on this flip.

HGTV

Add expensive tile sparingly

When Anstead shows El Moussa her pick for the shower tile, he loves it. There’s just one problem. The blue tile they both like is pricey, $10 a square foot, which El Moussa says is out of their budget.

So, instead of using the blue tile all over the shower, El Moussa comes up with a compromise. They could use the expensive blue tile for shower accents, in the shampoo niche, and on just one wall, and plain white subway tile for the rest.

In the end, they do both showers like this, and both look great.

“This bathroom is spectacular, I love the accent tile,” El Moussa says when he sees the finished product.

He’s right. With the mix of the light and dark tile, these bathrooms really pop.

The blue tile adds some color to this stylish bathroom.

HGTV

Light colors make small rooms seem spacious

In choosing designs for this house, Anstead and El Moussa lean toward lighter colors, and for good reason. The house is small, with only 1,400 square feet, two tight bathrooms and a small kitchen.

So, they brighten the space with light colors that make it feel more open. They choose white cabinets and light countertops in the kitchen and bathrooms to make the house feel less cramped.

“The white definitely makes the bathroom look bigger and more open,” Anstead says when the remodel is finished.

It goes to show that simply choosing the right color can make all the difference in a house with limited square footage.

A light palette makes this kitchen seem larger.

HGTV

So, is this a flip or flop?

While the asking price was $540,000 on this flip, El Moussa and Anstead end up paying $558,000. After investing $104,000 on the remodel, and calculating the closing costs, staging, and commission, El Moussa finds that their break-even point is $687,900.

They list the house at $779,000, but apparently, their price is too high. At the end of the episode, El Moussa explains that they haven’t been able to sell the house yet. One possible reason is that the house still has plenty of issues, including a small kitchen, cramped bathrooms, and a garage that isn’t connected to the house.

Although we can’t be sure when this house will sell (or if it has sold since this episode’s filming wrapped), we’d chalk this up as the season’s first and most serious flop. Hey, there can’t always be a happy ending, right?

The post Why Can’t Tarek and Christina Sell This House? Inside Their ‘Creepiest’ Flop to Date appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.