Can a Wizard Help Tarek El Moussa and Christina Haack?

Can a Wizard Help Tarek El Moussa and Christina Haack?

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Tarek El Moussa and Christina Haack often get help on a house from outside professionals, but on the latest “Flip or Flop,” they hear from an unlikely expert: a wizard.

In the Season 12 episode “Flashback Flip,” El Moussa and Haack buy a house in Walnut, CA, for $650,000. The four-bedroom, two-bathroom house needs some serious updates. Plus, Haack has hired a wizard to give her and El Moussa a reading, and he ends up advising them to take more risks. In flipping terms, this likely amounts to spending more money in ways that might not pay off.

Find out if El Moussa and Haack take the wizard’s advice—and learn which risks may be worth taking when renovating a house.

Stucco over old brick for a cleaner look

El Moussa and Haack always give their flips an exterior upgrade, whether that includes paint, new siding, or a full face-lift. But they are conflicted when it comes to this house’s curb appeal. They want to stucco over the brick but aren’t sure about the $4,000 price.

“We could paint it; we painted a bunch of houses before,” El Moussa says. “My only concern is that this brick sucks. It’s, like, crooked—it’s falling apart.”

In the end, they decide it’s best to use stucco.

“I don’t think we can leave it. I think we need to spend the money,” Haack says.

While exposed brick can be a nice feature, these flippers prove that it’s only an asset when it’s in good shape. Uneven bricks make a house look messy, so it’s clear that clean stucco is the right choice.

Give your staircase good feng shui

When El Moussa and Haack first step into this house and see the staircase, which faces the front door, they’re immediately worried.

“It’s a feng shui nightmare,” Haack says.

“Feng shui is a real thing with buyers,” El Moussa explains to their contractor, Jeff Lawrence. “If their staircase is coming out the door, that means the money is running out of the house and they’re going to go broke.”

If they take the wizard’s advice, they should splurge on moving the stairs. Yet they can’t justify spending the $16,000 it’ll take to get it done.

Instead, they spend $3,000 on an updated handrail, which modernizes the entryway. Plus, Haack adds a rug to the base of the stairs and attaches a string of bells to the banister, which she says should help the feng shui.

The flippers’ cost-effective upgrades helped to improve this staircase. Whether it’s enough to ward off bad juju, though, remains to be seen when the house goes up for sale.

A nice fireplace is worth the investment

In the living room, El Moussa and Haack find a dated fireplace in need of a new look. Haack says they have two options when it comes to this feature: build the fireplace out and add a sleek tile hearth or simply paint the brick.

El Moussa and Haack decide to spend the extra $3,000 to give this old fireplace a new look and, in the process, they knock out the old built-in shelves on either side. While storage is always valuable, El Moussa and Haack’s decision allows the fireplace to shine as the room’s focal feature. The new tile looks clean and modern, creating a stylish centerpiece for this living room.

A kitchen peninsula adds more seating than an island

The kitchen in this house isn’t huge, but El Moussa and Haack want to make the space function well. One way they do that is by adding a peninsula instead of an island.

“That way at least there’s bar seating for, like, four people as opposed to probably just, like, bar seating for two,” Haack says.

These flippers also decide to add some lower cabinetry for storage and a coffee station.

“We can make it really cute with a couple of floating shelves, some backsplash, a coffee station area,” Haack says.

The coffee station ends up being a great addition. It doesn’t make the kitchen feel crowded, but it does allow for a little extra storage and counter space. It’s a great bonus feature and it serves as a reminder to not crowd the kitchen.

Turn one big bathroom into two

This home has only two bathrooms, but Haack and El Moussa are happy to see that they both are huge. They decide to split one bathroom in two, creating an en suite for the main bedroom while still leaving plenty of space for a secondary bathroom upstairs.

When designing the two smaller spaces, El Moussa and Haack go with a light color scheme.

“Because both bathrooms are a little bit small, I would go with the white cabinets,” Haack explains.

With white tile in the shower and white cabinets, the bathrooms don’t look small at all. These flippers add value without compromising on look.

“The best thing we did here was creating two bathrooms out of one,” El Moussa says.

Is this a flip or flop?

El Moussa and Haack buy this house for $650,000, and while they planned to spend about $120,000 on the renovation, they end up shelling out $158,000. After calculating closing costs and commission, they realize the house’s break-even price is $848,000. They list the house at $999,000.

“We’ll definitely get multiple offers at $999,000,” Haack says.

Yet after two weeks on the market, the house gets only one offer, for $975,000. While this is still an impressive profit of $127,000, you’ve got to wonder whether Haack’s wizard was right about taking more risks with this flip.

The post Can a Wizard Help Tarek El Moussa and Christina Haack? appeared first on Real Estate News & Insights | realtor.com®.

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