It’s been a lot of fun watching and recapping “Flip or Flop Fort Worth.” I love the fact that Andy and Ashley Williams work with a lower price point than most shows, but their homes still feel sophisticated and gorgeous.
And their dynamic is great, too. I mean, for real, have you watched how Andy sits there and looks at Ashley when she is explaining something to the camera? It’s adorable.
Andy and Ashley works so amazing together. They don’t try to individually control the flip. They sit, talk it out, then decide the best plan of action. #fliporflopfortworth
— Curtis (@CLF_423) January 12, 2018
Y’all notice how Andy looks at Ashley when she’s talking? Absolutely adorbs #fliporflopfortworth
— Rachael Peart (@RachaelJPeart) January 12, 2018
If you are wondering about a finish from a previous “Flip or Flop Fort Worth” episode, there’s a good chance that I’ve answered it in another recap. You can find all of them here.
This week’s home is in Watauga, in a neighborhood Andy says has comps going for about $200,000. The 1,300-square-foot house has three bedrooms and two baths, and the asking price is $200,000.
As they drive up, it’s meh. It’s hard to tell what the front looks like because the lawn and bushes are so overgrown.
“You know what I like about it? That it has a big front lot,” Andy says as they head through the front door. “Maybe it looks a little better in here than the outside.”
Right away, there are these two weird windows in the entry. Ashley says they look like a drive through.
“This wall is the first thing to go,” Ashley says. Overall, they agree there is a good sized living room, but “it’s very dated,” she says.
The master suite is a decent size — actually, it’s pretty spacious. My notes: “POPCORN CEILINGS ARE AWFUL.”
In the master bath, someone has attached a small suitcase to the wall as a medicine chest. It um, was not an inspired design choice.
@AshleyandAndyFW Gotta admit…..never seen that before.#SuitcaseMedicineCabinet#FliporFlopFortWorth @RTRMedia pic.twitter.com/XM7ow7q19P
— MAC (@the_ag_fox_1971) January 12, 2018
A large kitchen has a great footprint, but again, it’s dated. Ashley proposes keeping the footprint but updating it and dropping the wall between the kitchen and the living room in favor of a peninsula.
“I want to be part of my family’s life, I don’t want to be locked in the kitchen,” she says about her preference for a more open concept.
The hall bath is generous but will be a whole gut job because it’s kind of filthy. It and both bedrooms are also pretty dated, the bedrooms — even the pink and purple one — seem to need flooring and paint.
The backyard is big but totally outgrown. What they think is a shed turns out to be an unexpected surprise.
“It’s a little playhouse!” Ashley said.
“That’s a huge add on,” Andy agreed.
What a find -PLAYHOUSE-after trekking past the Amazon forest in that back yard. @AshleyandAndyFW #FliporFlopFortWorth @hgtv
— I_AM_SHELIA (@smspann) January 12, 2018
Back at their offices at Recon Realty, they crunch the numbers (this is also the first time I think we’ve seen their office this entire season). Asking is $200,000, but Andy says the home needs about $40,000 in renovations, so he’d like to ask $129,000.
Comps are about $200,000, but Andy says that if they do good work, they could be able to get $210,000.
After a bit of back and forth with the seller, they eventually settle at $129,000 cash and close in three days.
And then demo starts. Ashley comes in after they’ve gutted the place to find Andy needs to show her a small problem in the kitchen. Seems that the wiring was located within the wall they wanted to knock out. He says it will cost about $500 or so to move everything up to the attic, and Ashley says it’s worth the cost.
My notes: “THAT’S IT? THAT’S NOT A PROBLEM. That’s barely a hiccup.”
Oh, wait. Blake is here. There’s a problem. I feel like I type those two sentences a lot.
Blake the contractor says the sewer line is failing, and there’s a leak under the house.
“I feel like i just got punched in the gut,” Andy says. “The first thing I think is jackhammers.”
That underground leak is EXACTLY why flippers should come in as low as possible bc you never know what surprises will come up under the surface to repair. Gotta take that into consideration so the budget won’t be jacked up. #fliporflopfortworth
— Curtis (@CLF_423) January 12, 2018
Blake, the comforting soul that he is, lets them know that the worst case scenario is $9,000 and 10 days worth of repairs. But he’s going to bring in a leak detection company to better pinpoint where the leak is.
The company uses this camera doohickey and then some kind of doppler thingamabob and narrows the leak down to one very specific spot, which means the job will cost $1,000-$2,000 — a huge improvement over $9,000.
Next up is the roof. Blake and Andy head up a ladder to check it out, which is crazy because we know Blake is the harbinger of doom and the contractor.
However, it seems to be good news. “I think the gamble paid off,” Blake said, since Andy only did a visual inspection before buying.
My notes: “OH THEY BROUGHT THE BABIES.”
Seriously, I love it when they bring their kids. They’re adorable. This time, they brought them to help give design input on the playhouse. So far the suggestions are flowers and unicorns.
I HEAR YOU, SISTER.
Who doesn’t want unicorns in their playhouse? It’s an essential element to the creative compilations that will be discussed in secret. Amina has Mom”s eye 4 design. @AshleyandAndyFW #FliporFlopFortWorth @hgtv
— I_AM_SHELIA (@smspann) January 12, 2018
While the kids play in the playhouse, Ashley and Andy discuss the beat up patio. Ashley asks if they will just pour a new pad and stamp it, but Andy has other ideas.
“Concrete is actually really expensive,” he said. He instead suggested slate as a better and cheaper alternative, and Ashley was on board.
She then met up with Andrew, who was coming in to tame the landscaping. They decide the crepe myrtles flanking the home would stay, but the crazy overgrown bushes were going away in favor of flowers and cleaner landscaping.
Andy also has a suggestion for the fireplace. Ashley wants it to be a focal point, but it’s kinda ho-hum right now — brick and pretty unremarkable. Andy said he found a veteran who owns a company that can coat the fireplace and then carve it to look like stone.
“It’s actually fairly new,” Ashley said. The result is gorgeous and indeed does look like stone.
NEXT UP IS STAGING DAY.
I love staging day almost as much as Ashley loves staging day.
“Staging has everything to do with showing your buyer what this house would look like if they lived in it,” she explains. Also, it’s new stuff and it’s pretty stuff and I always want all of it.
The final episode of the season winds down the same way they all have – starting with a walk through by the couple. The house looks amazing. Landscaping and paint made that house look much newer. The curb appeal is 125 percent better.
Inside, the living room looks clean and modern, and the fireplace is once again a focal point. And THAT KITCHEN.
Now open to the living room, the living area seems so much bigger. “Now you can see right into the living room,” Ashley said.
The two bedrooms are also cleaned up and staged beautifully — and no more pink and purple. It’s amazing what new flooring and paint can do. The hall bath, which was a total gut job, now looks gorgeous.
“I’d take a bath there,” Andy said.
The master seems so much bigger. The popcorn ceiling is gone, it’s staged well to showcase its size, and the master bath has also had a dramatic transformation.
“Man, I like what we did here,” Andy said.
They check out the backyard, which has been cleaned up and mowed. The slate on the patio actually makes it look more substantial than any concrete pad would’ve, and guys — they painted the playhouse to match the house.
“That’s such a cool feature,” Andy said about the playhouse.
Omigosh that play house is adorns! @AshleyandAndyFW @hgtv #FliporFlopFortWorth #LiveTweetCrew
— Marlene Dougherty (@Marlenedougher) January 12, 2018
They talk numbers, and reveal that they finished the renovation in four weeks, and Andy thinks that while comps are going at $200,000, he’d like to try a slightly higher price point.
“I think we can go around $209,000,” he said. “Let’s test the market out.”
The only thing left is open house day and sweet mercy THE BABIES ARE HELPING AGAIN. There was lots of foot traffic, and people loved the updates.
“People loved the kitchen,” Andy says.
As the credits roll, Andy reveals that after 10 days on the market, they accepted an offer for $200,000, which means they made about $17,000 on the renovation.
So what did you think of the series? Are you a fan? Hope it gets picked up for another season? If you have any questions about finishes, I’ll be back one more time next week to try to wrap up any lingering questions. My next recap will be the series finale of “Fixer Upper.”
Bethany Erickson is the education, consumer affairs, and public policy columnist for Daltxrealestate.com. She also has opinions about TV shows, lima beans, orders that are appropriate for the drive-through, driving to Kansas, rats, Grey Gardens, apartments, dust ruffles, bleach, popcorn ceilings, and wine. Contact her at [email protected].
