We’re seeing more conversations about buying the block in Black communities surface. Some people are lucky enough to go beyond talking about it and have sprung into action. Dedric and Krystal Polite, married couple, parents, TV personalities and real estate investors, are examples of that. The couple star on the A&E/Hulu series 50/50 Flip where they renovate homes with less than $50k in under 50 days in Krystal’s hometown of Burlington, North Carolina. Even more significant, they’re doing so in areas that are dealing with gentrification, making them hometown heroes.
After debuting in 2022, the second season of the series premieres Feb. 7. This time around, viewers will get a free guide to home flipping, the market and more. Krystal says people don’t know that their first time flipping houses was on national TV during Season 1.
“Season 2 has definitely stretched us as far as our capacity for flipping and our ability for it,” she tells ESSENCE.
“This season we are actually showing people how to get on the investment side. We deep dive into how we are able to buy these properties with no money out of pocket, and how we were buying them through seller finance, which is a creative finance strategy that most people don’t know about where the seller becomes the bank,” she adds.
Krystal says viewers can also expect to see a breakdown of their numbers, negotiation tactics with landlords, and their approach to designing the properties they find and flip.
The work the Polites are doing is so crucial considering African Americans continue to lag behind when it comes to homeownership. The rate of Black homeownership has only increased 0.4% in the last decade and is almost 29 percent less than White Americans according to the National Association of Realtors.
In addition to discriminatory practices that are a hindrance, the current economy doesn’t make home ownership easier, considering interest rates on mortgages are higher than they’ve been in years. Higher interest rates means paying noticeably more over the lifetime of the loan. Higher interest rates are affecting the Polite’s bottom line, but they’ve been buying relatively cheap properties that require a rehabilitation to keep their profit margins healthy.
The couple also point out that there are initiatives that make owning a home tangible for some. “There’s programs out there where you can get down payment assistance. You can go to a local credit union, local nonprofit. You take a home ownership class and they may cover your down payment,” Dedric shares. FHA loans, homeownership assistance programs, and first-time home buyer programs are examples of initiatives people can explore.
Krystal adds that through the show, viewers can learn about alternative ways to finance a property.
“Ninety-eight percent of our portfolio is purchased through creative financing,” she says. “So we didn’t go to a bank and put down 20%, 25%. We didn’t do any of that. We went straight to the homeowners and we said, ‘Hey listen, I would love to buy your property’ and this is how we can structure it creatively so they become the bank. And we’re giving them a small down payment.”
Some people out there may want to begin their home ownership journey by flipping houses like the Polites. They say say first-time flippers should focus on making a low offer on a fixer upper, getting a home inspection, creating a price sheet to see how much it will cost to renovate the home, and only focusing on cosmetic repairs versus structural ones. The goal should be to sell the property for more than you spent for the purchase and renovations. Mistakes the Polites say aspiring flippers should avoid include paying contractors in full, advising that people should only pay for completed work. Other errors include overpaying for the home and skipping out on inspections.
“We learned through Season 2, every house we buy before we close on ’em, we need to get a home inspection. That way we know everything that’s wrong with it, at least 90% of the items, so we can get ahead of it in the renovation process and always know what we’re getting into,” Dedric says.
People looking to enter the housing market and own their first residential home can also benefit from this flipping strategy. That is, buying a cheaper home and renovating just to get your foot in the door.
“That’s called building sweat equity,” explains Dedric. “So finding something that needs a little bit of work, like Crystal said, cosmetic, it needs paint, it needs carpet, it needs a little TLC, it doesn’t need a complete gut rehab to the studs. That’s how you can build some sweat equity in your property.”
The Polites have proven to be successful at flipping homes. Doing so as a couple has its benefits but it also comes with its challenges, which we’ll see in Season 2. Some of the latter include figuring out when to turn it off as business partners to focus on being parents and partners in life.
“Turning it off from business to personal is the biggest challenge,” Krystal says. “Knowing when to flip from CEO mode to wife mode or CEO mode to husband mode to me is the biggest challenge because we are not only husband and wife, but we are co-CEOs.”
Thankfully, the Polites have found some balance, utilizing travel, quality time with their kids, working out, and meditation to reel them back in to stay grounded. It has allowed them to accomplish great things in the business of flipping homes and most importantly, in the business of love and marriage.