HGTV: The Biggest Mistakes First-Time House-Flippers Make

Page Turner has seen it all when it comes to house-flipping. Best known for “Flip or Flop Nashville,” the real estate broker is hoping to pass on some of her house-flipping expertise in her new HGTV series, “Fix My Flip.” In the show, which is set across Southern California, Turner helps several struggling (and often first-time) house-flippers in their attempt to make a profit.

“In this season, you’re going to really learn the ins and outs of flipping: what to do, what not to do,” she told Apartment Therapy in a recent interview. “I’m coming in with my own money many times, as the distressed flippers need it. I’m helping them get out of holes that they’ve dug, usually because they don’t have budgets, they don’t know where their contractors are, they don’t have a plan. I can go on and on.”

In addition to the lack of budgeting and planning, the biggest issue she’s seen comes from “not getting a mentor first.” A mentor can be a great person to shadow, she said, and help dispel any notions that house-flipping is “easy money.”

“This is a real business, it’s not a game,” Turner added. “And you will certainly lose if you come in with that mentality. So I ask first for you to have a mindset shift, so that we can really ascertain if this business is for you.” 

For those at home considering a career in house-flipping, Turner recommended getting out of the “dot-com world” and looking for an in-person real estate mentor. “Find a local group of investors,” she said. “They’re everywhere. We’re coming out of the pandemic, so they still might be online, but find somebody who is personal and a real person that you can actually ‘touch’.”

“It doesn’t always happen overnight,” she added. “But you have to start mingling again to find people.”

“Fix My Flip” airs Thursdays at 9/8 central on HGTV and Discovery+.