Home : Flipping Out on Bravo TV: Adventures of an Out-of-Control Real Estate Developer

Flipping Out on Bravo TV: Adventures of an Out-of-Control Real Estate Developer

Posted by Michael Sexton on 8/1/2007 at 7:38 AM
Posted in Real Estate

I don’t know whether you watched the premiere of a new reality show called Flipping Out on Bravo TV last night. I did. The show will follow a real estate developer named Jeff Lewis as he buys, renovates and sells upscale houses in Los Angeles.

Lewis engages in some pretty erratic practices. He consults psychics and spiritualists before buying or selling properties. Before he put his own house on the market, he replaced all his own furniture with special “staging” furniture that he keeps in storage for the purpose. Then he forced his eye-rolling staff to light candles and take part in some kind of new-age blessing ceremony to help the place sell.

Still, you can learn some interesting tactics from Lewis. After getting a lowball offer on a house accepted by its seller, for example, he hired painters to give the place a cosmetic fix-up to make sure that the bank would give it a high enough appraisal and write the loan. That’s not a bad tactic, though fixing up a house you don’t own is certainly unorthodox.

When you stop to consider what is really happening, however, it becomes clear that Lewis has overextended himself by renovating too many properties at the same time. At the end of the show, he actually admits, “I have very little money left. I can only last a few weeks.”

Will he save himself from disaster or not? Will he sell his house? Those are the kind of cliff-hanging questions that reality shows dangle week to week. But what Flipping Out really shows is a man who is addicted to turmoil and risk and who would achieve a lot more success simply by working the numbers, monitoring his expenses and building his success in a structured way.

Of course if Lewis did that, it wouldn’t make for much of a reality show, would it? It looks to me as though the real lesson from the show is to avoid following the example of the show’s shaky central character.

Michael Sexton is President of Trump University.

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8 Comments

Posted by Business 2000 Foundation.com on 08/01/2007 2:43 PM

A very good point and insightful! Stay in control of your developments, and seek strucured assistance.

Posted by member1618792 on 08/01/2007 5:07 PM

It seemed like the show was focused on his OCD and childish behavior more than on the actual process of buying and renovating homes. I'll give it one more week and then cross it off the list.

Posted by Feoh on 08/01/2007 11:48 PM

Sweet synopsis Michael....

(dah-svee-dahn-yah)

locol yokol

Posted by member1630044 on 08/02/2007 3:56 AM

I have watched Flipping Out on Bravo TV. I felt Tori was very sincere. Everyone else feels fake! She felt like a real person.

Posted by Veronica Da Metz on 08/02/2007 5:27 AM

cost balance is a part of the game, sometimes extension of usable resources that have already been paid can benefit both parties if they ask for it. Resource management can be an important part of leverage, before loss of cost.

Posted by Daniela -Madrid on 08/02/2007 3:44 PM

Mr. Sexton,
learn something important from Lewis shaky character as you say and his unorthodox aspected or not(?) tactic to fix up a house he don*t own..
The very important point is that he serve his way by fixing houses in place not accepting *as it is* easy path ..impressed that he does with many houses this until his resources are soon at limit.
No idea how he will deal with but wish him the very best with the show
and in his life.
Mr Sexton I would like to ask the proper counsening regarding the proposed Plan we started as Trump University Team.
It require a very powerfull team in place, the best investment strategy. But prefer if possible to learn live from the best Coach, a person who wsa there and know the roots and the subtleness not just of the R.E. market but also of the human nature to prevent as much as possible further exposed to risk. The Master on minimized risk if possible.
To learn from, to follow in action learning by doing. From the foreclosure results we see now is a whole history which it lead at this point. As globally the Real Estate Market is and soo different country*s and rules e.s.o..
Jerusalem, is said that from David genealogy tree will come a King able to fix the God Home properly! When it happend the water of life will flow costfree for everyone.That day just God know it exactly but is closer than we may imagine so to be prepared to welcome the different new times at horizont. I pray for the right guidance, is a powerfull tool to pray mind and heart fuzion.
To start diligent work, yes, is a bless to have the best coach teaching how to :
* Achieve the goals faster&efficiently(the best for the people lifes we touch that way and are not few)
* Close an extremely profitable deal with little to no money down for the targeted customers and the winn winn globaly for the involved negociation parts too.
* Waranted long term as long we heal the roots of each and every investment of time and work we start with that way. The foundation of that special Team at work for a special plan i see it with the eyes of the mind and want to transform it into reality. Hopefully see it soon.
The seeds of a dream to be fruitfull.
And when I say Jerusalem I mean it! and when ask for the powerfull Team in place, I hope to be actief part there.
Is personal committment to the new global development into a fairly market long term sustainability, deal? With God forward then!
Thank you for the time and attention
Daniela

Posted by Veronica Da Metz on 08/03/2007 6:14 PM

"Prohibit the taking of omens, and do away with superstitious doubts. Then,..., no calamity need be feared." -Tzu. An individual faith is not always common among all that participate, there is always a variation. Its a good point that you made about the eye-rolling staff, maybe they would of preferred to use that time on improvement of their own talents.

Posted by member1637855 on 08/17/2007 11:31 PM

My comment is this I saw that episode you were talking about and found a few disturbing things about the show. When I first heard about it I said to myself hey this might give me some pointers on how to flip houses boy was I surprised there was alot of material in the script that absolutely did not pertain to realestate at all for instance if you wanted to learn how to buy, repair and resell properties what does showing your animal care taker have anything to do with real estate? The way I saw it the answer is absolutely nothing at all. and look at the title Flipping Out,
It sems to me this guy cannot handle stress very well and after all the yelling that I saw him do to his crew it so wonder they are still willing to work with him. I was honestly kind of dissapointed in it because it was not what I expected. I think it could have been put together better than it is. Sincerely David A Vasquez

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