Real estate Jedi master James Dainard is all about turning a profit and wants to help others do the same. During A&E’s newest Home.Made.Nation series Million Dollar Zombie Flips, he’ll partner up with newbie flippers to not only bring dilapidated houses in the Greater Seattle area back from the dead but turn them into seven-figure properties.
Dainard puts up the funds and helps guide these individuals alongside his team made up of Megan Halter, real estate agent and designer, and Ryan Burgess, construction manger. However, it’s up to these flipping partners to see the vision for these renovations realized. If they can do that, it’s a 50/50 split. Otherwise Dainard isn’t above taking over and icing these rookies out of the deal and keep 100 percent of the profit.
We caught up with the host on what we can expect from the series.
I know you’ve been working with flippers a long time. How did the idea to do a show like this come about?
James Dainard: We’ve been working with flippers for almost 20 years. One thing I’m very passionate about is the idea that real estate can lead to financial freedom for a lot of people A lot of people just want to get into this space but don’t have the capital. We partner with flippers to help them fund their deal, help them get into it and give them the right plan and blueprint to become profitable and transform these homes. I thought it would be really cool to show anybody can do this. Anybody can get involved.
Tell me about some of the people we’re going to meet this season.
We have some amazing people on the show. We have some experienced flippers who have been doing it for a few years and need some extra funding. There are definitely characters. We also have some developers that are used to building homes. A lot of times people think building a home is harder than flipping a home, but it’s kind of vice-versa. So, we have to teach these developers about doing this next phase of investing and actually renovate a house instead of tearing it down and rebuilding it. We have some new people coming to get started.
We have Brie, who is a professor. She has worked in education for years. You know the problem with education. They don’t make a ton of money. She wanted to settle down, have a baby and learn how to flip and start achieving financial freedom. We were teaching Brie how to flip a house and how to go from stuck behind a desk to having her own choice of what she wants to do in life.
We also Megan and Ryan, who are part of your team. What do you want to say about them and your dynamic as you work together?
I’ve worked with them for a very long time. Ryan actually worked for me for almost 18 years. He is one of the most special people I know. He was actually one of my labor guys in 2009-ish where he would be the guy who took out the trash of these houses. We’ve been buying zombie houses for a really long time. The cool thing about Ryan’s story is he has gone from making $15 as a trash haul guy into where he is a project manager doing well and flipping houses with us. He is probably one of the kindest people you’ll ever meet. Megan has a similar story. She started out as my personal assistant. I trained her on construction and now she has become one of the best listing brokers in Washington state working with investors. She is a swiss army knife as far as brokers goes. She can not only sell houses, but she can design them and make them beautiful masterpieces.
Ryan Burgess, James Dainard and Megan Halter (A&E)
What can you say about the houses we’re seeing this season? There is a scene in the premiere where you’re find a hot tub in the back of the house that had a condom. Is that the craziest thing you’ve seen?
There is a house we walk into where the septic system backs up all the way to the basement. There was about a foot of old poop down there. Honestly, every house had a story. We had someone move into the basement of one of our houses and set up boobytraps. They dug some weird holes in the back of the yard. I walked into a house sight unseen and advertised it as a teardown. It was probably one of the worst zombie houses I’ve ever seen. It was dripping with mold, rotted. There was cat feces everywhere. There were rats everywhere. It was one of the most nasty houses I’ve ever seen. That’s saying something because I’ve seen a lot in almost 20 years.
What was it like to follow you through this process?
It was definitely a different experience because what we do is really hard. It takes a lot of focus, but it was also a fun experience because we get to show people the hard work behind all this. I think a lot of people think investors buy these houses, fix them up, sell them and just make all this money. There is so much that goes in the middle. There is so much risk. There are so many fires you have to put out. The thing is you can always put them out if you have the right people and the right plan. You have people who can really be problem solvers and fix these issues and come up with solutions for projects to get through those hard times. It’s fun to show off what we do.
There is the potential of this 50/50 split, but you also are investing your money. So you’re not afraid to show tough love to someone.
It’s hard. Flipping houses is not easy. There is a lot of potential reward in it, but there is also a ton of risk. You can lose everything very quickly. That happened to us in 2008. We take it very seriously. There is an art and science to it to maximize the potential of these houses and turn a profit from them. You have to follow the right blueprint, and when you don’t, it puts me at risk. I have to get on people because at the end of the day I have to protect myself and get to the house done. If the people can’t do it, they will hear from me because they took on the responsibility of running the project. I took on the responsibility of bringing all the money in. If they’re not doing their job, they will have to go.
James Dainard (A&E)
How would you describe these finished products?
I will say the viewers are going to see the biggest transformations they’ve ever seen on TV. These are not cookie cutter houses getting the same cabinets and flooring. These are massive transformations. The cool thing is we’re in the Seattle proper market. There is so many different types of architecture and styles of home, we really did get to lean into these homes and make them a masterpiece. We definitely had some unpredictable things happen. The unexpected always happens when you’re flipping. There were definitely times we made these houses beautiful, but we had a massive step backward where we had to solve a problem and get things fixed. People are getting a real inside look at what it takes to flip houses and things that can go wrong. People will be blown away by the finishes and design. They’ve never seen anything like this before.
And you’re also showing viewers how you manage existing investments you’re trying to sell.
Throughout the episodes there are almost two houses because we’re going out and solving problems in a lot of instances. It’s all what flipping is about. It’s about solving any problem financially so you’re putting the right product on the market to sell. When you’re flipping, you can easily step in quicksand to cover it.
Our company has also helped others get through hard times. We know the solution because we’ve been in it before. Throughout the show we meet with different investors who are also having issues with contractors who hacked up a house and ruined a house. We show them how to get back on track from unsellable houses with big defects to where buyers don’t want to buy them. We create that solution to help people fall in love with it. We’re constantly helping people. It’s about paying it forward and getting people to their financial goal. We come up with the right solution that doesn’t burying them in the project.
What do you want to say to people who are thinking about flipping?
Flipping is a very high risk business. It can be financially rewarding, but it’s very high risk as well. The thing is as long as you have the right people around you and the right plan, you can do really well at it. It’s all about problem-solving and putting the right plan in place. For the people sitting at home, the biggest message I want to get across to somebody is everybody can do this and everybody can get involved. It’s about partnering up with the right people. Whether it’s bringing in somebody that can finance the project and the other can do the construction or good at finding a deal. There is no excuse. You can get involved and really change your life flipping houses.
Million Dollar Zombie Flips, Series Premiere, March 1, 11 a.m./10c, A&E
