Christina and Tarek El Moussa May Be Better House Flippers Divorced—Here’s Why

Now that Christina and Tarek El Moussa have officially split, the question everyone’s wondering is this: Can they still swing a dazzling deal on “Flip or Flop,” or are their best flipping days behind them? HGTV, for one, is reportedly panicked over their breakup, believing they’re worth far more married than separated. But is that really true?

Hoping to shed light on this subject, entertainment website TheWrap.com examined how their ratings have ebbed and flowed recently, and found that their numbers did take a slight dip after they announced their separation in December—but they bounced back and then some, making 30% gains in January.

In other words, the El Moussas may be separated, but they are still a hot commodity, thank you very much! And the latest episode of their show, “The Doll House,” shows them at the top of their game, making over $100,000 in profit.

Here’s what we learned watching them in action.

Lesson No. 1: Always check that renovations are legal, except when you can’t

Tarek is in a tizzy over a four-bedroom, two-bath house in Orange County’s Garden Grove, largely because of several hundred square feet of additions. Are they legal? Ideally the El Moussas would find out before they make an offer, since nonpermitted renovations would have to be torn down. Still, if they hem and haw too long, someone else might swoop in and beat them to punch.

“I feel like this one’s really risky,” says Christina, as they contemplate making an offer before they know the status of the extra rooms.

“It is risky,” concedes Tarek. “But we gamble for a living, so let’s go for it!”

Tarek calls the owner, who confesses he has no idea of the permit situation, because the previous owner made the additions. In light of that, Tarek offers him $10,000 less than the $440,000 asking price, and the offer is accepted.

Lo and behold, luck is with them this time; most of the additions have the proper permits in place.

Lesson No. 2: Budget-friendly upgrades can still look great

Christina wants to go all out on the kitchen, designing a farmhouse look with far more expensive materials than usual. But Tarek objects, explaining, “I can tell you right now this is way too buyer-specific, and the materials are twice as much as we budgeted.”

This seems to push Christina perilously close to the edge. Plus their daughter, Taylor, who has come shopping with them, backs mamma up. “You get what we pick, and you don’t throw a fit,” she tells her daddy. Wonder who coached her?

In the end, they strike a compromise: They use some of Christina’s more expensive materials, but not all. Instead of a fancy marble weave backsplash, Christina gets resourceful and uses black grout around the white tile for a visually interesting but inexpensive effect.

Lesson No. 3: You don’t have to completely remodel everything

Just when the house is about to be finished, they walk into the backyard and Christina’s eyes light up. She wants to put in new sod, add a covered deck, get rid of the old concrete, and put in new cement pavers—the works. Tarek is terrified. They’ve already put about $87,000 into the remodel, when they’d budgeted only $65,000. He persuades Christina to step away from the covered deck, but he is willing to put down sod and new pavers. In the end, the backyard looks so good you don’t really miss the deck at all. See? Everything works out in the end. Sometimes.

Lesson No. 4: If the market is hot, go ahead and price high

Finally, there is one more decision to make: The price. They spent $430,000 on the house originally, and with the $90,000 they spent on the remodel, plus closing costs and staging expenses, they’re going to have to ask $543,500 just to break even. But the house is bigger than it was before and the comps are higher, so Tarek decides to shoot for the moon.

“The market is really hot in Garden Grove right now, so I’m thinking of listing it at $674,900,” he says.

Christina’s eyes just about pop out of her head. “OK,” she replies.

After the house spends only 17 days on the market, they accept an offer for $660,000. When the dust clears and the final numbers come in, Tarek and Christina make a whopping $116,500 profit.

In other words,Tarek and Christina may have their differences, but on the house flipping front, they’re still a great team.

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