Christina El Moussa’s 3 Costly Mistakes on ‘Flip or Flop’

Things seem to be going from bad to worse for house flippers Tarek and Christina El Moussa. It was recently revealed that back in May, Tarek spotted Christina swapping “inappropriate texts” with contractor Gary Anderson (whom she is now dating), sparking their explosive fight.

We have no idea who knew what when the couple were filming the most recent episode of HGTV’s “Flip or Flop,” but tensions are clearly at a fever pitch. Tarek seems to be tiring of Christina’s impetuousness, and for good reason: Every time his estranged wife insists on getting her way, it seems to end up draining their profits by hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.

The tone is set at the beginning of the “Beached Bungalow” episode, in which they’re deciding whether or not to buy a Long Beach bungalow for $425,000. Tarek thinks that’s a lot to pay for a 1,200-square-foot house, but as long as the studio apartment that’s been added to the side of the garage was built to code, he thinks they could make a decent profit.

That’s when the trouble starts, and some unfortunate mistakes ensue. Read on and watch out in case you ever decide to upgrade your own house with a spouse. And watch out for those inappropriate texts, OK?

Mistake No. 1: Not checking permits before your purchase

“It’s a great location; it’s close to the beach. Let’s go for it!” says Christina, encouraging Tarek to offer full asking price before their contractor checks with the city to see if the studio adjacent to the garage was built with proper permits. Tarek yields to Christina’s enthusiasm, and they buy the house.

Midway through demolition, their contractor informs them the city did not permit the studio. D’oh! Tearing it down would cost $2,000, but bringing it up to code would cost thousands more. Decisions, decisions. Either way, their potential profits shrink considerably.

Oops.

Mistake No. 2: Being brutally honest, or just mean

Tarek and Christina agree that the kitchen is spacious but needs work—it looks like it was remodeled in the ’80s. But the couple have vastly different opinions on how much work the kitchen needs, and neither is ashamed to voice exactly how they feel about the other’s ideas.

“Can we keep these cabinets?” Tarek asks. “No!” yells Christina, before insisting that they install butcher block countertops, which will cost at least $500 more than the granite they usually use.

Tarek, in turn, is none too tactful in his reaction to the gray-and-white, pin-wheel tile floor Christina comes up with for the bathroom: “That’s hideous! Come on!”

This only causes Christina to dig in her heels.

“We’re going to go with it, and you’re going to walk in and fall in love with it,” she tells him. To which he asks rhetorically, “Am I going to win this?” She responds: “No! I’ve already picked it.” Guess that’s all there is to that.

Mistake No. 3: Running up your reno budget

At this point, Tarek concedes, “Apparently, I don’t have a choice.” Christina suggests painting the built-in cabinets in the dining nook dark gray—and even though he says, “I don’t like it. It’s really dark,” he lets her have her way. And when she wants to paint the front door neon yellow, his first response is, “Honey, no!” But he is helpless against strong-willed Christina.

Yet in the end, Tarek is actually pleased with how the house looks.

“I’ve got to admit, Christina knocked it out of the park with her design choices,” he says. But he’s not pleased with the budget. After they add the unexpected expenses of replacing the roof, plumbing, and heating system, they’ve spent a whopping $76,500 on remodeling, almost double their estimated $40,000 budget.

If only they’d waited to find out about permits and inspected the rest of the house before they made their impetuous offer.

In the end, after a 90-day remodel and four weeks on the market, they manage to eke out a profit by getting their full asking price of $549,900. But after deducting an additional $3,500 for staging and $20,000 in closing costs, they’re left with only $24,900, which is not great for four months of hard work. They’d anticipated so much more.

But then again, we guess you could say the same thing about their marriage.

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