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NARRATOR: In northern California,
there's a new gold rush.
I'm going to battle every single day.
NARRATOR: Millions made and lost buying houses at auction.
Sold -- $475,000.
Right on.
Well, think about it. Huge risk.
You're gonna spend half a million bucks
and you haven't even gotten to see what's inside?
I mean, it's crazy. It's stupid.
Once you buy it, you open the door and you see what's there.
MAN: The inside of the house is thrashed.
KRISTA: This is a total redo.
MICHAEL: You build it out like you're gonna live there.
That's why they sell.
NARRATOR: With money on the line
and renovations costing more and more...
VINNY: We take a diamond in the rough and make it shine, baby.
MANLY: We definitely have champagne taste on a beer budget, right?
You're gonna pick it up, you're gonna put lots of love into it,
somebody's gonna come by, see it,
and they're gonna want to move their family in there.
Wow!
NARRATOR: ...who will come out ahead in the ultimate house war?
I have to buy something every day.
Otherwise, I'm not gonna get paid.
Every week we spend about $1 million.
We're like ninjas in real estate.
[ Both laugh ]
DOM: Krista is my work wife.
We talk more to each other than anybody else.
We can pretty much do it all.
I don't want to go broke.
[ Laughing ] You know it's inevitable,
but just not for a while.
-- Captions by VITAC --
Closed Captions provided by Scripps Networks, LLC.
KRISTA: We have to hurry. We're gonna be late for the auction.
The auction starts in two hours.
We just got the list of homes that'll be on the block today.
The auction takes place every day at 10:00 A.M.
at the courthouse steps.
I love what I do.
I love it.
[ Laughter ]
NARRATOR: 90 minutes to the auction.
On the block, a three-bedroom house in San Jose --
minimum bid, $220,000.
DOM: Krista and I have a great relationship.
We're spending so much time together,
it's almost like we're married.
We are so not married, though. [ Whispering ] He's single.
[ Chuckles ]
DOM: Tie them, 'cause if we have to run,
you're gonna have to make sure those things stay on there.
Oh, and don't forget your pepper spray.
You're gonna need your pepper spray here.
DOM: She's an amazing partner.
KRISTA: He's pretty amazing, too.
DOM: That'll look cute.
KRISTA: Best house on the street.
What the heck is that?
Ah! Check it out!
Don't get near it.
What do you mean, "don't get near it"?
It looks like a tomb!
[ Laughs ] You mean, like, there's a body in there?
Well, I don't know. Look where you're at.
Look around the neighborhood.
Right now I am commuting back and forth from Phoenix
so that I can work with Dom,
and I am trying to convince my husband, Michael,
that we should move here,
that this is a good idea for my business.
So we need to do well on this house in order
to make it easier to convince him that this works.
What's up with the black stuff all along the roof line?
DOM: That stuff here is all mold, and it smells.
It already smells.
[ Laughs ] It smells like money.
No, it smells like money.
KRISTA: This house needs a ton of work.
[ Laughs ]
We got foundation issues.
We got some more dry rot and mold.
What I like about the house
is it feels like the neighborhood's turning around.
And it's not gonna cost us too much to get in
because it really needs a lot of help.
Let's go buy a house.
RICK: Every morning, I wake up.
I pop out of bed, give this guy a call.
All right, man. That looks like it right there on the corner.
I'm the finance. He's the builder.
We make it happen, man.
Oh, look at this place. What a beauty.
I do like that it's a corner house.
Corner spot. Look at this. Beautiful.
I can't get my eyes off this thing. What do we got over here?
They must have buried a lot of cats
in the front of this house. What do you think?
Well, either that, or it might be filled with cash.
This might be the mother lode. I don't know.
A couple of moldings hanging off.
We checked out the roof. The roof looked a little shaky.
But we're gonna try and bring it in at the right price,
and if we do, I think it is workable.
All right. Here's another window we need.
So, you know, it's gonna be windows all around, for sure.
I'm worried about the pest issues.
So that's what's -- Oh, who's that guy?
Who's that guy, dude?
Somebody called the cops! I don't believe it!
Come out this side. Go. Go. Go, go, go.
Let's roll.
VINNY: If we're gonna bid on this property,
we don't have time to talk to this guy.
Let's get out of here.
Let's go to the auction. Come on. [ Laughs ]
[ Speaking indistinctly ] Get out of here.
[ Chuckles ]
What was that about?
NARRATOR: 11 miles west, in upscale Los Gatos,
a four-bedroom house with a starting bid of $850,000.
Okay. A couple more. It should be on the left.
You know these are all well over $1 million.
You think that much?
Uh, yeah. Well over.
Here we go. Here we go.
Overgrown.
This thing looks vacant.
All right. Let's hustle.
I haven't even gotten in the backyard.
The front yard is 20 grand.
When we scout these properties,
we have absolutely no idea what's inside them.
So we have to make an educated guess
as to what the interior looks like.
Look at this. Look at this.
But look at how nice -- giant lot.
Alisha and I are like "Beauty and the Beast" --
She is happy and optimistic, and I am kind of the curmudgeon.
They haven't updated this thing since the day it was built.
The Los Gatos home could be a huge stretch for me,
but it will push me to the next level.
It could be an amazing renovation.
MICHAEL: It's a half acre. It's up here a little further up on the left.
TODD: This is awesome.
Michael and I grew up in Los Gatos,
literally three doors from one another.
Michael and I have been obsessed
with buying a house in Los Gatos.
Nothing has ever come to the court steps.
Is that it?
Look at this piece of land.
We'll clear all this out.
And there are some beautiful oak trees in there
that'll be focal points.
Yeah. I agree.
What's up with the car? Whose car is this?
You don't know whose car that is? That's Josh, buddy.
Yeah, it's Josh.
He's probably in the backyard right now.
JOSH: I think this place is vacant.
ALISHA: This is the worst house on a great block.
And that's what you want.
You can spend $250,000 by accident in this place.
And you'll make it back.
It's a dump. It's a dump.
TODD: Dude, check out the neighbor!
I think we should go engage in conversation with a neighbor.
Excuse us, ma'am.
Hey, Todd, seriously, let me handle this.
TODD: We are huge believers
in getting whatever information we can from neighbors.
We're actually looking very hard at buying the property.
If we did, we would completely renovate the property.
WOMAN: I would love that.
Do you live here, or you live there?
I live here.
TODD: The neighbor did give me a clue.
I just know he was into a lot of electronics.
Could mean the interior of the home is in great shape.
Electronics? It could be ham radios from the '50s.
I mean, we don't really know what it is until we get inside.
She was fired up.
She was.
Oh, great.
You know they're gonna bid on it.
It's their area. It's their area.
Yes. Exactly. Now we're thinking alike.
Well...
You guys can't afford this one. What are you doing here?
Oh, come on. Come on.
We're gonna buy this one, for sure.
He went to elementary school right there.
Is that right? You guys should overpay for this
like you do everything else.
Why don't you guys go get some coffee or something?
This is a good one for you guys.
We got to get to the auction.
We got to go chase the other eight
that we're gonna buy, also.
We'll see you guys there.
TODD: Opening bid's $850,000.
We're gonna have to pay north of $1 million.
Oh, absolutely.
It's gonna be good for our business.
It's gonna be great for the community.
We can give back to this town that we love so much.
So there is no way we can lose on this deal.
So, now I want to win this home. I want this home.
Todd and Michael want the home. You like the home.
The price point still makes me a little bit nervous,
but I can get over that.
You're gonna be so happy if we get this house.
NARRATOR: Meanwhile, back in San Jose,
with 45 minutes till the auction,
Greg and Beau are scouting a suburban ranch house --
minimum bid, $280,000.
GREG: Two or three weeks would be perfect.
That's our time frame on most jobs.
We always want to get in and out as quick as we can.
The quicker we get done, the faster we get our return back,
and the faster we can move on to the next house.
BEAU: I don't know about this one.
No? I think it looks good.
We have another project
that we've dumped a lot of money into,
and we really need something that we can move on quickly.
Decent-sized backyard.
What is that?!
What is that -- a cat on steroids?
I don't have a clue what that was.
It was a huge, alien-like rodent
that was clearly out to get us on that property.
He's a giant chicken.
There's nothing back here. It's gone, whatever it was.
Ohh!
That's a good sign.
A ladder. Maybe they were doing work inside. You don't know.
It could be a good one.
Yep. Yep.
Let's do it.
Right now we buy about 50 properties a year.
We like to help first-time home buyers get a house.
MIKE: I don't got a good feeling about this neighborhood
and the school district, though.
We bought a house in this neighborhood before,
and it was kind of hard to sell
'cause the schools aren't very strong.
Families aren't really dying to live here.
You can't see in there.
It looks remodeled from the outside,
so it could be on the inside, too.
We're friends.
We're business partners. We go to the same church.
We really believe in helping others
and doing good through our work.
Whoa! Look at this electrical panel.
It has a ground wire built into and behind the foam bottom.
MANLY: They stuccoed the ground wire into the home.
That's unbelievable!
[ Both chuckling ]
That's nuts.
For the most part, the rest of the house looks pretty sound.
Yeah, well, we need to turn enough of a profit
so I can pay for my son's preschool.
I don't know why you're even worried about his schooling.
You should sell one of your tires from your car
and you'd probably self-fund his tuition.
Maybe sell your suit.
We're gonna bid on this house. It has a lot of potential,
even though the school district is a bit of a worry.
NARRATOR: 10:00 A.M. -- auction time.
Bidding on the three houses is about to begin.
Good morning. I'm Damon. I'm the auctioneer this morning.
TODD: This is where the rubber meets the road.
It's game time.
You'll be able to tell that Todd's really fired up
when he gets ready to start bidding
and his body starts twitching involuntarily.
[ Laughs ]
DAMON: We have lot number 768.
This is a Los Gatos property.
It's a four-bedroom, three-bath.
We have never had the opportunity
to buy a property here, so we're not gonna let it go.
End of discussion.
It's a great neighborhood, great-size lot.
ALISHA: Great school. I love that home.
I want that home.
I want that home to live in.
DAMON: We're gonna start the bidding at $840,000.
$850,000, $860,000, $870,000.
$880,000. I have $880,000.
I cannot believe how many people are bidding on this property,
because it's such a high-priced property.
$890,000 is the lady. $900,000. $910,000. $920,000.
MICHAEL: Dom and Krista -- We've never seen them
pay north of, what, 600 grand for a property?
If that.
$940,000. $950,000.
$960,000. $970,000.
$980,000. $990,000.
$1,000,000 bid.
This is crazy. It's already up to $1,000,000.
$1,005,000.
DAMON: $1,010,000. $1,020,000.
$1,030,000. $1,050,000.
Yes! Right here!
$1,070,000. $1,080,000.
$1,090,000.
DAMON: Lot number 768. This is a Los Gatos property.
I realize the Los Gatos home could be a huge stretch for me,
but it will push me to the next level.
ALISHA: It could be an amazing renovation.
$1,010,000. $1,020,000. $1,030,000. $1,050,000.
Yes! Right here!
$1,070,000. $1,080,000.
$1,090,000.
Yo!
I don't know why Todd and Michael are bidding this property up.
ALISHA: They're getting very emotional about it.
Very emotionally attached,
because they think they know Los Gatos.
They think they're gonna go steal a property?
They're on drugs.
DAMON: $1,120,000. $1,130,000.
$1,140,000. $1,150,000.
$1,170,000.
$1,170,000. I'm in.
$1,180,000. $1,190,000.
$1,200,000.
There comes a time when you have to just bow out
because if somebody is dumb enough to overpay for something,
I don't want to be that guy.
$1,210,000.
I have $1,210,000.
$1,220,000? $1,220,000?
$1,210,000 --
Sold, subject to receipt of funds.
Thanks, bro.
TODD: Got the property. Beyond fired up. Super-excited.
That's in my hood.
Yeah, that's a good area. I'll give you that, man.
DAMON: All right, we're gonna move
to lot number 333 -- San Jose, California.
It's a three-bedroom, two-bath. 1,176 feet.
The curb appeal is nice. I do like the outside of the house.
We had some trepidation because of the school district.
We want that house.
I've been authorized to open the bidding at $280,000.
$290,000? $300,000.
As we were standing at the auction,
I'm on my tablet searching the school-district zone.
And it so happens that it falls
right within the great school district,
so we have to get this property.
$310,000. $315,000.
$320,000 is here.
$330,000.
$330,000 is here.
I have $330,000 with the gentleman.
Anybody else at $335,000?
$330,000 going once.
We got it.
Come on.
Come on.
Sold at $330,000, subject to receipt of funds.
MIKE: We won the house.
We can't wait to get back over there and get inside.
We just go and we add maybe some touches here and there.
Sell it right away.
All right. We're gonna move to lot number 164.
It's a three-bedroom, one-bath home.
1,130 square feet.
That house is good for one reason.
It's got a big front yard.
It's got a white fence in the front.
Everybody loves the white picket fence.
And, you know, it does have potential.
DOM: Besides that funky tomb
or burial ground or whatever that is,
it's on a corner lot, which a lot of people --
Anybody loves a corner lot.
It's gonna have great curb appeal when we're done with it.
Lots of stuff there we can work with.
We're gonna open it at $220,000.
Somebody bid $225,000. $225,000. $230,000. $235,000.
$250,000. $255,000.
I'll take $256,000.
$257,000.
Who the hell was that? I've never seen him before.
Lot number 164.
It's a three-bedroom, one-bath home.
KRISTA: This is definitely a property that we want,
so we automatically start bidding.
DAMON: I'll take $256,000.
$257,000.
Who the hell was that? I've never seen him before.
$257,000 is here. Now $258,000.
I'm out.
KRISTA: And I'm not sure that the comps that we have
are actually gonna support that high of a bid amount.
DAMON: $257,000. You know you're out here.
I have $257,000 in the back. We're out here.
$257,000.
Any other bids? Fair warning.
Sold, subject to receipt of funds. $257,000.
KRISTA: The auction's over, we did a ton of work,
and we're walking away with nothing.
DOM: We actually just got a phone call from a realtor
that told us that the comps around the area --
the houses that are being sold around there --
are going for a lot more than we first anticipated.
Sir.
They're going between $365,000 to $390,000,
when we originally thought
they were gonna be going around $320,000.
KRISTA: We'd like to buy it from you.
What do you guys have in mind?
We're thinking $5,000 over what you paid.
KRISTA: "Flipping the paper" is, you know,
somebody has purchased the property at auction.
Maybe they've had it a half-hour, an hour.
They're not going to necessarily pay for it.
They're gonna turn around and sell it right away
and make a little bit of a profit.
So we would pay him on the side
and walk in and actually purchase the property ourselves.
Give us a number.
We'll give you 7 grand.
$7,500, and it will be cash.
That way, you don't have to even deal with it.
Just sign the documents, and we'll give you 7,500 bucks.
Give me $10,000 over what I paid -- $267,000.
$267,000? $10,000? What do you think?
We had a price in mind already -- $5,000 to $10,000.
I knew that spending that $10,000 would, in the end,
make us an extra 30 grand, because we know
that the house is worth a little bit more.
Okay. 10 grand is fine.
10 grand?
Yes, sir. I appreciate your time.
$267,000.
KRISTA: He made $10,000 for a half-hour of his time.
We are super-excited and cannot wait
to get our construction crew in there and get going.
Make some money.
NARRATOR: At the Los Gatos home,
Michael and Todd are about to enter
their $1.21-million purchase for the first time.
I hope this place isn't a dump.
We just paid twice what we normally pay for a property.
It's a huge investment for us.
We cannot wait to get into that property.
TODD: Oh.
Wow.
It's pink.
TODD: Pink wallpaper, pink carpet.
Looks like it's straight out of the '70s.
I mean, it's really boxy in here,
and this wall needs to come out.
Oh, no!
Look at the kitchen!
This is, like, ridiculous.
The kitchen is the size of my current closet.
We got to move the kitchen over here somewhere.
Buyers in this area want to have a big, open kitchen.
This would be a better office.
These things are all garbage.
Families want to be together. They don't want to be separated.
That's what gonna sell the house on this market
for the big money that we need to get.
A nice vaulted ceiling, huh?
Really high ceilings in here with those beautiful beams.
We could rip out this entire room.
That loft -- It's garbage.
Open this up.
We'll put hardwood down with a family room down there.
Maybe put the kitchen in here and all the new amenities.
Dining room here. It'll be awesome.
Demo -- That's what? 20, 25 grand.
You're gonna move the kitchen.
So that's gonna be, what, $40,000?
It won't be $40,000. $30,000.
The master. God, look at all the roof leaks.
Look at that.
Paint and carpet won't work here.
Every time you do a house,
you build it out like you're gonna live there.
That's why they sell.
Todd has relatively expensive taste,
so a lot of times, he needs to be reeled in just a tad.
Have I lost any money?
A couple times.
[ Laughs ]
I have known Todd basically his entire life.
Todd grew up three doors down from me,
right here in this town.
Shocking as it may seem, I am a few years older than Todd.
He was my brother Bobby's best friend and wingman.
Obviously, you get to know the older brother real well
when you steal things out of his bedroom
that you shouldn't be stealing when you're little kids.
My brother Bobby was diagnosed with brain cancer.
And throughout that entire 17-year battle,
this guy right here was there
through every single difficult time.
Todd and I obviously have a very special bond,
and we have a mutual respect for one another.
Having someone that you can trust to your grave
is really hard to find,
and it makes tough jobs like this a lot easier.
What a nightmare.
So we'll make that, like, a giant linen closet.
His-and-her vanity.
This skylight's actually great.
A big shower in here.
Do stone here. Maybe build these walls out.
If Josh and Alisha bought this home,
Josh would probably go in there
and try to steam-clean the pink carpet
and paint over the pink wallpaper.
We won't be soft.
It's in our backyard. It's our reputation.
You might notice that he tends to be
a little bit on the aggressive side.
We're not flipping a $300,000 house here.
MICHAEL: It's good to have somebody
that has maybe a slightly calmer demeanor,
and I think that I do have that.
Spend $200,000, get $1,900,000.
$200,000 is more than we need to spend.
All right. Well, we're gonna.
NARRATOR: At the San Jose corner property,
Dom and Krista are about to see what they got for $267,000.
KRISTA: We just bought the house from the gentleman at the auction.
I'm really excited because I know the potential
of these homes is amazing
to make a huge return on our investment.
DOM: Wow!
I'm really excited because I know the potential
of these homes is amazing
to make a huge return on our investment.
This is bad.
DOM: I feel like I got things on me.
Yeah, don't.
Ugh. Geez.
This is a total redo.
DOM: There's no refrigerator where the fridge should go.
There's no stove where their stove should go.
I'm just calculating how much that's gonna cost.
We're gonna have to put everything in brand-new.
Put the fridge here in this corner.
Add darker cabinets with a light countertop.
Do you want to do uppers?
I think that's a good idea. Uppers on both sides.
And I want to do crown all the way around.
And stainless appliances.
You could never go wrong with stainless appliances.
We can knock down that into the dining room.
I like it.
Krista makes a great partner because not only
is she full of energy, but she keeps me grounded.
Look up.
Oh! [ Chuckles ] Look at that.
You know, even though it's a little bit dumpy,
every house just needs a little bit of love.
Well, we have a little bit smaller of a space in here,
so I think if we have a phenomenal kitchen,
that's gonna help sell the house.
Oh, that's great.
But leave that bearing post there,
'cause that would cost us a lot of money in engineering.
KRISTA: We got a lot of work ahead of us.
DOM: [ Chuckles ] This is gonna be fun.
NARRATOR: It's Mike and Manly's turn to enter their new house.
We paid $330,000, which we think is a huge steal.
All right.
The "winner, winner, chicken dinner."
MANLY: Usually, on the properties that are stuccoed and nice...
The inside is gorgeous.
...99.9% of the time,
the inside is completely remodeled.
What's that smell? [ Sniffs ]
It was a foul smell. It was wrong.
I don't think any human being should, you know --
Exactly.
Is something dead in there?
There is something -- a dead animal or something.
We called the exterminator.
He came quickly, thank goodness.
And we were standing outside. He got in there.
It smells like it's coming from over here, from the vent.
It looks like you got a dead raccoon in here.
Climbed inside here and died.
Yep.
Yeah, get it out.
[ Coughs ]
MIKE: He brought a little deodorizer and sprayed the area.
He needed to bring, like, a big, huge can
to spray the whole home.
You know, we aired out everything.
Got some dual-pane windows.
Oh, my gosh.
Yeah.
They took the cabinets, the dishwasher, the sinks.
Gosh. There's not even a floor here.
[ Scoffs ] Yeah.
They took all the carpet.
The cans, the lights -- Nothing was there.
They stripped the whole thing and gutted it out.
Most likely, the homeowners before
were in the construction field,
because they knew exactly what to take, how to take it.
[ Sighs ] I'm just blown away. I just can't believe it.
Yeah.
I don't even know where to start.
This is, like, a nice, big, great room, though.
Yeah, it's a nice, big, great box.
And you're walking right in from the door
The living room.
They can maybe put some sofas, some couches here.
This gives them some living space.
We have to put the kitchen here.
We can have a light fixture coming down
and make this a dining area right here.
We can also add an island here.
And then have bar stools over here.
From what I can see here,
this is really all the cabinet space we have.
Let's move this garage door over to this side.
So that gives us more counter space.
How about dollar sense?
Is that gonna make sense for us to use all that money
in order just to demo this and put a door over there?
Well, to me, if it makes sense, it makes dollars.
Okay.
NARRATOR: In Los Gatos, it's day one of demolition.
TODD: Rip out that old kitchen. All that goes.
All right. Let's make it happen.
The future great room. Everything's gone here.
TODD: The minute the wall comes down
between what used to be a bedroom
and now the new dining room is a feeling of elation.
MICHAEL: I mean, you get a sense of how open it's going to feel,
how the views toward the backyard will be.
Let's do the master bath, get this closet done.
We need to roll up all our carpets and get going.
Piece of cake, huh?
Started last Wednesday.
Today is Tuesday. We're on a roll.
MAN: You got that beam up?
We got one side up, and trying to get this other side up.
TODD: This giant beam takes the load of the entire roof line
so that we can have one giant open room.
I think you'll be happy about this.
I found these plans in the closet.
They added this master bathroom and this master sun-room in 1985
that added 500 square feet to this house.
We have a 2,700-square-foot house here,
not a 2,200-square-foot house.
No, no. I think those are included in the square footage.
It is not. I measured the whole thing.
I had it all measured out.
MICHAEL: So this and this aren't reflected in county records?
You got to be kidding me.
No. It's 2,700 square feet here.
The property went from being 2,200 square feet
to 2,700 square feet in a minute.
700 bucks a foot times 500 feet -- You do the math.
350 grand.
Oh, baby. Give me a hug.
That is sweet.
Finding an additional 500 feet makes that remodel free.
Nothing is free.
Steak and lobster. Let's get it on.
KRISTA: Right now I am commuting back and forth from Phoenix.
But it's okay.
I'm trying to convince my husband, Michael,
that we should move here.
It's the biggest dump on the street,
but it's gonna be fantastic when we're done with it,
and it's on a corner.
MICHAEL G.: Well, good. I love the corner houses.
Once we get this done and sold,
I think you're gonna see this is the way to get to California.
There are so many good and positive things that could come out of this.
It's gonna be okay. Don't worry.
NARRATOR: It's been more than a week
since Dom and Krista checked in on their house in San Jose.
DOM: We already put a new roof and fixed the mold problem,
which cost us about $8,000.
KRISTA: The tomb -- I mean, these guys have been working
on that thing for like two days straight,
and we've hardly made any progress on it at all.
Good to see you again.
Dom, how's it going?
We got the outside painted.
KRISTA: Look. They've cleaned up a lot of the brush, too.
It looks nice.
What happened to the jackhammer?
Yeah, the jackhammer was starting
to be a little expensive, so we kind of downgraded
to the chisel hammer there.
But it's kind of nice we did. We found something in there.
Oh. Really?
What did you find?
I'm not sure what it is, but we got it inside,
Let's take a look!
We got the door sanded and painted.
This is the little gadget we found out there.
Good to see you again.
Today we're chatting with Steve, and he was telling us
that he actually found something in the tomb.
This is the little gadget we found out there.
He found some metal lock of sorts.
I thought you were gonna find a ring
or something that's worth money -- a diamond.
Well, hang on. It could be worth something.
This is really old.
I don't think it's worth the drive to throw it away.
Look at that -- "W.F. and Company."
Oh, I don't know.
Ooh, that's cool.
Didn't find the key.
It looks cool.
Maybe we should even get it looked at, appraised?
Yeah, I don't know. Let's see what happens.
How's the kitchen coming?
We got most of the drywall done, upper cabinets in.
Even that area there is just amazing.
Instead of having a wall separate,
it just kind of brings the family together.
It's coming along perfectly.
Can't wait to come back next week, 'cause it'll be fantastic.
NARRATOR: In San Jose,
Mike and Manly are called in by their contractor
to tell them about an unexpected problem.
SKAR: Not only are the can lights and stuff
and the lighting taken out,
but this guy basically was pretty vindictive.
He went through and stripped and cut
all of the electrical out of this place.
All of the feeds, all the drops
have all been cut and ripped out.
You serious?
He didn't leave us a thing.
What's it gonna run? What's the damage for us?
You're looking at somewhere in the neighborhood
$7,000?
We expected this to be like a quick flip.
Now it's gonna take us an extra week or two
because of the electrical.
We're way over budget if that's gonna cost us $7,000.
I know, guys. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.
I mean, that's horrible.
MIKE: First, the house was completely bare.
And then we find out all the electrical is gone,
so we have to rebudget for that, too.
I mean, what else can go wrong with this home?
NARRATOR: Dom and Krista's contractor found an old lock,
and Krista wants to get it appraised.
DOM: I'm thinking it was a gift from somebody
to his girlfriend or something, years ago.
It's probably something that's worthless.
We're basically gonna waste our time and gas
getting up to San Francisco.
All right. I'll buy the gas. You spend the time.
All right. Fine. I'll drive.
[ Both laugh ]
Come in.
This is the toy room.
DOM: I'm walking in, and I see
this wall full of antique firearms.
KRISTA: [ Chuckling ] This is really cool.
Oh, my God. This place is amazing.
I want to touch that before we go.
Well, we came across this thing while we were doing
some demolition in a property we just purchased.
Obviously, it looks like a lock, but...
Yeah, well, actually it's a very interesting historic piece.
These were used, actually, 1870 period.
This is a typical stagecoach lock on a Wells Fargo box.
It kept the gold and treasures on the stagecoach
that traveled through the gold country in California.
That is awesome.
I think I'm gonna reconsider every wall
that's coming down on our properties.
Any time before 1930s,
we're gonna pay very close attention
to everything that comes out.
MARTIN: Early Wells Fargo and Gold Rush items
are very collectible, and there is a market.
So, would you make us an offer on that?
DOM: We found a lock in our front yard.
Krista thinks it's valuable, so we brought it here
to get appraised to see if it's worth anything.
MARTIN: Early Wells Fargo and Gold Rush items
are very collectible, and there is a market.
DOM: So, would you make us an offer on that?
I would say...
I would give...
...$1,500 for this lock.
[ Chuckles ] Score!
Mr. Martin, I really like the sound of that.
We are definitely getting granite counters now.
Thank you very much.
Nice doing business with you.
Thank you very much.
I am eating my words. I am very sorry.
I'm glad we actually made it out here.
NARRATOR: It's day 14
of Todd and Michael's renovation in Los Gatos.
Today, they're picking finishes.
TODD: This is our floor throughout the whole house.
That's gonna be beautiful, really elegant-looking.
It cost a little more money,
but it's a super-high-end product.
PFAFF: Remember the 500 square feet that we found?
It'll pay for this, too.
Exactly.
You know, you guys keep bringing that up,
but what's wrong with saving a little bit of money?
I mean, just because we realized the benefit,
why do we have to make the place like the Taj Mahal?
Oh, my God! Look at that shower!
Porcelain tile with a wave in it,
and it's gonna go all the way to the ceiling?
PFAFF: All the way up to the beams.
What are we looking at, numbers-wise?
It's probably a $10,000 shower.
Do they make tile that's more expensive than that?
[ Chuckling ] It'd be tough.
I mean, that $10,000 investment will get us 50 grand.
You know that 500 square feet? We're still spending that.
[ Laughter ]
NARRATOR: With just one week to go,
Mike and Manly's renovation is almost done.
We end up saving a bit of money
buying the appliances all together.
When you buy them in bulk, we got a good discount on that.
We saved about $2,000.
And that offsets our cost
to what we were losing on the electrical.
But we are still down another $5,000.
MANLY: So, we're gonna go up to the top.
SKAR: Yeah. Basically what you'll have is four diamonds.
And then two nice sconces.
Yeah, looks good.
The construction crew is doing great.
They're on time, on schedule.
So, you guys got this island in here?
A lot bigger than we expected, but it looks good, though.
MIKE: Really nice.
MANLY: With the progress so far,
we are ecstatic to put this thing on the market.
NARRATOR: After 28 days of construction,
Dom and Krista's house is ready to put on the market.
KRISTA: We purchased the property for $267,000.
DOM: And we put about $30,000 into renovating it.
And now we hope to sell it for $420,000.
Today is a good day, and the realtor is gonna show
our first prospective buyers the home.
All right. Watch your step.
Nice floors.
Wow!
MAN: Right when you walk in the front door,
that front room and the fireplace --
It just pops right out at you.
Functional?
Nice.
And as you walk on through, we come into --
I like how this opens into the kitchen here.
This is gorgeous.
Awesome.
Real granite.
You get a lot of natural light in here, too.
It sets it apart from all the other places I think we've seen.
Definitely.
Oh, wow.
How does this work for you?
This is great!
WOMAN: Yeah. It will fit everyone.
WOMAN: What do you think?
We definitely would love to put an offer on this house.
Selling this house successfully is going to be a large factor
in convincing my husband, Michael,
that California is the right place to be.
NARRATOR: Mike and Manly purchased the house for $330,000.
They've put $44,000 into the renovation,
and they want to list it for $450,000.
They haven't been here for a week,
and they're about to see what they're putting on the market.
Wow.
Unbelievable.
It's a world of difference, Mike.
Great job!
I can't even believe it. I mean, it looks great.
I remember, when the door was over here,
and we moved it over here to give it more space
over here for the kitchen.
The majority of the time,
families spend, you know, time in the kitchen.
So I think that was probably
one of the best decisions we made on this.
We used, you know, custom granite, tiled backsplashes.
And, then, we have all stainless-steel appliances.
Who doesn't love those?
SKAR: Check out the fireplace.
This looks amazing.
Walk into the house -- the first thing they see
is this fireplace, and it looks awesome.
We walked into a box and made sense of this whole home.
MIKE: I can't wait to sell it to a deserving home buyer.
They're gonna love everything about it.
Now let's see the bathroom.
SKAR: These glass tiles are not cheap.
We definitely have champagne taste on a beer budget, right?
Absolutely. Yes, you guys do.
It looks like a million bucks.
I'm pretty excited. I can't wait to get this thing on the market.
Let's sell it.
NARRATOR: Now it's Todd and Michael's turn
to see what they are about to put on the market.
The success of this project in our hometown is imperative.
It's really important to our reputation.
So we have a lot of pressure.
PFAFF: It's all done.
Right on.
Yeah, it's good stuff.
This project is now finished on time,
and it is sick.
Let's go check it out.
Is the staging all done in there?
PFAFF: It's all done.
Right on.
Yeah, it's good stuff.
TODD: This project is now finished.
It came out beautifully. We're thrilled with it.
Wow!
That's ridiculous!
Unbelievable.
No question -- best property that we've purchased to date.
It was a grand slam.
Look at the fireplace.
Yeah, I do.
Uh-huh.
PFAFF: A little different than what we started with?
A little bit.
I think it's a good thing that we got this property.
There is no other team that could've pulled it off the way that we've done it.
Our growing up in this town makes us know
what buyers want around here --
open floor-plans, kitchen, family room, backyard.
You always see your kids. And all the new amenities.
I think the biggest selling point
is this absolutely stunning kitchen.
This basketweave Carrara marble.
Yes.
People appreciate this.
You guys remember what this kitchen used to be?
Remember in that little room over there?
Looks nice.
I can't believe their kitchen was in here.
Tiny.
This place turned out awesome.
I can't believe we did this in 30 days.
MICHAEL: Wow.
Those new skylights -- Those look so nice.
Look at this closet.
I think the women in this town are gonna love this, don't you?
I think the men in this town will, too.
Yeah.
Look at this bathroom.
You have got to be kidding me.
MICHAEL: That tile is incredible.
We made it a walk-in shower, too, so there's no curb.
It's unbelievable.
We talked 200 grand, Rick. Where'd we end up?
And we're at $300,000-plus.
Todd spends a lot of money, and, you know, this house is new exception.
I was leery at first, but I think the finished product --
I mean, it came out absolutely beautifully.
We're very thrilled.
But we've got a lot of money in it,
and we need to exit it at a good number.
We paid $1,200,000, spent $300,000.
We're in it $1,500,000.
I am feeling like $2,599,000.
I love it.
Have a big open house tomorrow, and rock 'n' roll.
Let's do it.
WOMAN: Oh, my God.
That is beautiful.
Ladies and gentlemen,
thank you so much for coming to our open house.
It's five-bedroom, three-bath on a half-acre.
We're really passionate about this home
and want it to end up with a great family.
A lot of houses tend to be dark.
This one's just open. There's lots of light.
Look how big this is. Oh, my goodness.
That is huge!
WOMAN: It just welcomed you immediately.
Very inviting home.
This is a gem. It's pretty much got everything.
We would love to make an offer.
When we first saw this house, it was an absolute dump.
We ended up buying the house for $267,000.
We spent about $30,000 in the renovation,
and it took us about four weeks, from beginning to end,
to complete the rehab with our property.
The best part is that we have a verified sale pending.
So we're so excited, 'cause now we can get
Krista's husband, Michael, and show him the check
and say, "Look, this is what we were talking about.
You got to get your butt down here to California."
MANLY: So, we bought the house for $330,000.
We spent about $44,000 on our renovation,
which was a little bit over our budget.
But, you know, at the end --
It's going to an amazing first-time home-buyer family
who are just recently married.
Yeah, which we're ecstatic about,
I mean, to sell it to a first-time home buyer.
It's our purpose. It's our goal.
And we did get one into the home.
And they are so excited.
TODD: We buy it for $1,210,000.
Our original plan was to spend $200,000,
and we ended up spending $300,000.
MICHAEL: I mean, this is twice as much
as we've ever spent on a property -- bottom line.
We held it open, what, four weekends in a row?
Ultimately, we did lower the price.
It sold in a day.
NARRATOR: With the help of an unexpected find,
Dom and Krista's corner property locked in a profit of $103,000.
Despite the electrical issues at Mike and Manly's San Jose house,
they walked away with $76,000.
And power team Todd and Michael's
upscale Los Gatos home
brought in a staggering profit of $789,000.
Home run.
There's nothing better than buying a dump, improving it,
and having a wonderful family move in and be super-happy.
We're so excited for the new homeowners
that are gonna purchase this home.
I love my job.
I wouldn't want to do anything else.
I wouldn't want to do anything else.