I’m addicted to “Property Ladder” (not “Property Latter” as the auction page said… that was pretty bad). I Tivo it every Saturday night. I think they actually do a pretty good job of showing that flipping is not an easy buck. There have been several flippers that have either made minimal profit, still had the property on the market at the end of the show, or decided to turn it into a rental after not selling (of course, they all say they will do it again, which I find hilarious). They also show people’s mistakes, which I think is good (for example, the newlywed couple didn’t get a full inspection before buying).
I hate that “Flip This House” always makes it look like a walk in the park. That just makes me mad, so I don’t watch it.
“Flip That House” was good when the group from SC was on – they’d been in business a long time, knew what they were doing, and generally came off as successful, not greedy. The new group is sleazy.
I really don’t think there’s anything wrong with flipping houses for profit. No different than any other business. The ones who will be successful in the long run are the ones who know the market well enough to make good decisions on purchases, pricing, and design, and have relationships with subcontractors and suppliers that enable them to minimize their costs and time. Even the amateurs that did one or two flips at the right time are better off for doing so. It’s the morons who get greedy or have unrealistic expectations that will lose out big time.