Tarek El Moussa and Heather Rae El Moussa are back to flipping houses on HGTV.
In January, the couple will appear in the competition series “The Flip Off” with Tarek’s ex, Christina Haack. And on Thursday, season two of Heather and Tarek’s show, “The Flipping El Moussas,” premiered on HGTV, diving into the couple’s house-flipping business.
In the episode, Tarek and Heather flipped a three-bedroom house in Los Angeles that was filled to the brim with trash when they started the project.
In the season premiere of “The Flipping El Moussas,” Tarek and Heather took on a trash-filled home in Los Angeles.
As the episode opens, Tarek and Heather check out a three-bedroom, two-bath house in Los Angeles.
Tarek’s company, Tarek Buys Houses, had purchased the 1,200-square-foot property for $430,000, which they said was on the low end for the area because the house was in disarray, filled with trash, rat droppings, and human feces.
They originally intended to sell the home to another flipper at wholesale, but because it was so dirty, Tarek and Heather would have had to invest money in cleaning it out before they could sell it to another flipper.
Instead, they decided to flip it themselves. They set a budget of $184,000 for renovations and hoped to sell the home for close to $1 million.
The home’s large living area was full of garbage when Tarek and Heather started working on it.
The large living area had an open-concept feel, though it was difficult to see the layout when Tarek and Heather first toured the property because it was covered in debris.
Tarek said in the premiere that it took his team three days and 10 trips to the dump to clean out the property.
Tarek and Heather decided to fully open the living area during the flip.
The new living space felt large and airy after the renovation.
Tarek and Heather took down the wall that separated the kitchen from the rest of the living area, making the space feel larger.
The space was full of light thanks to its white walls and the sliding glass doors that took up nearly a whole wall in the living room. Touches like beachy lighting modernized the space.
The backyard wasn’t much to look at before the renovation.
The fenced-in backyard offered privacy, but that was the only redeeming quality when the El Moussas worked on the project. The grass had died, and the house wasn’t in great shape.
However, the El Moussas noticed that a raised patio would create a view of the area, so they decided to add it to the property.
A patio made the house feel more luxurious.
The episode revealed that adding the patio to the home wasn’t simple. The team originally constructing it built an unstable structure and burned a hole through it, to Heather and Tarek’s dismay.
But the final version of the patio created an indoor-outdoor living vibe thanks to the sliding doors.
The El Moussas also added a new fence, grass, and a gravel area to the yard for additional seating.
The kitchen was originally full of dark cabinetry.
To make the kitchen feel grander, the El Moussas decided to place the oven and gas range in the center of the space so they were visible when you entered the home.
They had to move some windows around to make the change, which ended up causing them weeks of delays on the flip.
The delays were worth it, as the range became the centerpiece of the kitchen.
The kitchen looked cohesive with the living room, featuring white counters, appliances, and built-in open shelves.
A window above the sink overlooked the patio the El Moussas added to the backyard.
Tarek and Heather wanted to modernize the fireplace in the living room.
A stone fireplace took up much of the central wall in the living room, but the dark color was dated and didn’t fit the clean look Tarek and Heather were creating for the home.
Floating shelves and white brick made the space feel fresh.
The new fireplace featured vertical white brick framed by built-in shelving made of wood.
Large windows sat opposite the sliding glass doors, so light flooded the home.
The primary bedroom wasn’t as private as it could have been.
When Tarek and Heather first walked through the house, they found that the primary bedroom had a bathroom attached to it, but it was accessible from the home’s laundry room and kitchen as well.
The El Moussas decided to close off the bathroom and move the laundry room to a closet to make the bedroom bigger and have a true en suite.
They made the space feel fresher.
Rather than one large window, the El Moussas added two windows framing the bed in the primary to give it a sense of grandeur.
A sliding door led the way to the en suite.
The bathroom featured a large walk-in shower and double vanity.
Heather and Tarek’s vision for the bathroom paid off, as they were able to use the former laundry room to add square footage to the bathroom.
The walk-in shower featured a bench, and tile floors with a star-shaped pattern brought a pop of color to the room.
The wooden cabinetry also matched the shelving in the living area, giving the home a sense of cohesion.
The flip took longer than the El Moussas wanted, but they still made a profit.
Due to project delays, Tarek and Heather spent 12 months flipping the property in Los Angeles.
They also spent nearly $100,000 over their original budget on the renovation and invested $276,000 in the flip. Considering the carrying and selling costs, Tarek and Heather’s breakeven price for the house was $793,000.
They originally listed the house for $999,999 and got an offer of $920,000.
The post Tarek and Heather Rae El Moussa took on a trash-filled home in the season 2 premiere of ‘The Flipping El Moussas.’ Take a look inside. appeared first on Business Insider.
