Page Turner Teases The Details Of Her Latest HGTV Show Fix My Flip - Exclusive Interview
It's a mystery who coined the adage "You can't make a silk purse from a sow's ear," but whoever that person was, he or she was clearly not in real estate. Investors have long seen real estate as a promising way to grow their portfolios, and investors with an interest in construction and design see flipping houses — that is, buying less-expensive, sometimes distressed properties, then modernizing and enhancing them to sell at a big profit — as a powerful way to make good money. Among those who've built a successful career flipping homes is HGTV star Page Turner, a veteran real estate broker who has shared her expertise on house-flipping and renovation on shows including "Flip or Flop Nashville" and "Rock the Block."
While Turner is a big champion of house-flipping, she'd be the first to tell you it's not easy money. It requires careful research and strategy along with serious elbow grease, and she's seen too many novices get in way over their heads, running out of money or encountering unforeseen structural issues with their properties. In her latest HGTV show, "Fix My Flip," Turner's mission is to help overwhelmed property owners reboot their stalled projects and get the best possible price from their properties. In this exclusive interview, Turner shares her passion for real estate and useful tips for would-be house flippers.
Fix My Flip was inspired by Page Turner's desire to help others
What was your inspiration for "Fix My Flip"?
Oh, I've never been asked that question! Well, there was a few. Number one, being a real estate broker for the last 20 years, I'm in the business of helping people. Moving back to Los Angeles and flipping houses and starting a new business out here because I was in Nashville for 20 years, my inspiration was to help people. I know a feeling of being stuck and needing help and needing guidance and a mentor and some money, perhaps. That was my main inspiration. I can help people, because I finally, after 20 years in the business, I'm an expert. I know how to help people. I can get you out of this hole that you've dug yourself into.
How do you find and choose the house flippers that you're working with?
They find me. In the world of social media, you get DMs, you get emails, people find your phone number, you get text messages. I can chitchat with people and say, "Okay, well, what kind of trouble are you in? What do you need? Let me see the house." Then we're able to start working together from there.
What were some of your favorite moments from filming this season?
Helping people get to the reveal. Oh, it's such joy, tears, like, "Wow, we really did this! You guys were stuck. You guys were in a place where you didn't know how you were going to get out of this. Were you going to lose your life savings? Are you business partners that were going to fall apart?"
Money is usually the biggest issue. Even friends will get a divorce over money — getting to the end and like, "Wow, we really did this. We did it together."
What's so amazing — sometimes people, when they get in trouble, whether it's ego, whether it's pride or embarrassment, they don't ask for help. I'm always like, "Listen, you guys are asking for help, that's honorable." Most people don't. They'd rather let a house fail than to get help to get it fixed.
Page Turner does her homework before buying homes to flip
How do you get into flipping houses in the first place?
Again, [from] being in real estate 20 years. I got my license in 2003, started my first brokerage in 2006, [so] it was a natural progression. I am a serial entrepreneur, so I'm always looking for multiple streams of income. Flipping was another stream in real estate.
What do you look for when you're shopping for houses to flip?
I look for market position. Each market is different, and a market can change within a few blocks within Los Angeles. You want to know what area your house is in, what houses there are going for, what the style of the homes are. I look for a lot. I look at comps. I look at ROI. I look at, again, market position, and is it the house for me?
What are some of the popular upgrades right now for flippers?
Opening up walls, kitchens, bathrooms, but also creating private spaces, because so many people are working from home now. A lot of my folks are like, "I really need an office." We can't always add square footage, but getting creative with where we can put an office, that's one of the biggest upgrades. People always go to tile and countertops and paint and all, fixtures, but people want an extra room for privacy.
What are some of the biggest mistakes that people make when flipping houses, in your opinion?
Number one, people come into this business thinking that it's easy, fast, quick money, a side hustle, a part-time job, something they can do on the weekend, and not recognizing that this is a business. As a real estate broker, entrepreneur, this is a business. If you don't position your flip, even if it's [just] one, as a business, you're going to lose.
You need a business plan, you need a marketing plan, a budget plan. You need a team, you need a mentor if you're a first-time flipper. That's one of the first things I stress: Find somebody who's done it before. Even if you have to cut them into the deal and make it worth their time, find somebody to help you and guide you.
Page Turner dishes on her best and worst projects
What has been your toughest project so far?
A flip that should have been torn down. It was a tear-down and I thought, "I'll do it," and I broke even on it. I didn't make any money from it, but I didn't go in the negative, and it was by the hair on my chinny-chin-chin. I took on too much and I knew it was a tear-down when I walked in. When I started literally tearing down the walls, looked at the floors, I'm like, "Wow, this house needs to be burned down." It was a big mistake.
What project have you been most proud of and why?
In life, I'm so proud of so many. Every single house I've flipped, I'm so proud of. The ones that were a little bit tougher, like that one I just mentioned — I didn't tear it down, I did finish it, and I cried like a baby when we were done and when it sold. Sometimes, flipping becomes a part and a reflection of your life, and things and stages that you're going through. I was having a tough time in life. I had this heavy flip and it was costing me, and I really, really could have gone bankrupt behind that flip. I'm so glad I was able to break even, but I was very proud of that flip. Just about every flip that has my name on it, I'm proud of.
Wow, that's a great feeling.
It is. It's an honor to be in a business where you can live your life's dream, and be able to say, "Wow." You can drive down that street in ten, 15 years and say, "I renovated that house and it still looks great."
You've sort of answered this, but what advice would you give first-hand house flippers or people who are thinking about it?
Do your research. Know the markets you want to be in, find a great mentor, a realtor, a contractor, all of the "-ors," get them on your team, and don't do it alone. People think that they're an island [and say], "I can do this on my own." You don't have to. Build a strong team, because they'll help you when times get tough, and I can assure you that in the flipping process and business, times will get tough.
"Fix My Flip" premieres tonight at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HGTV and will be available for streaming on discovery+.